The fountain
by glowing wolf
Summary: Hey guys this story was a request from retro mania it is based on the short film the fountain, the first chapter is a prologue which is just the movie itself then the rest is an extended version.
1. prologue

Prologue

 _ **Hey guys this is a new story I'm writing it was a request from retro mania, it is based on a short 15 minute film called the fountain. This chapter will be the movie so anyone who hasn't seen the movie or hasn't watched it in a while will know what it's about so anyone can read it and not get confused.**_

Artie pov.

I stare down at the letter in my hand to make sure I've got the right place, the words scribbled in my hand writing describe the young lady sitting across from me on the park bench perfectly. I take a deep breath and approach her.

"Excuse me, are you Maddie" I ask her.

"Yes I am and you must be Artie" she says smiling.

"Yes, it's nice to finally meet you" I say.

"You to, so" she pauses not sure what to say next.

"It's a beautiful day do you want to go for a walk" I say to break the silence.

"Of course thank you" she says.

She stands up and we start to walk through the park side by side, we slip into easy conversation telling each other stories from when we were young, without even really noticing we leave the park and start to walk through the neighbourhood, soon enough as I finish telling her about college adventures and we're laughing as she calls me crazy I look to see we're at my house, I stop walking and turn to her.

"Would you like to come in for some tea" I ask her.

"Oh is this your house" she asks.

"Yes it is" I smiling.

"The flowers are beautiful" she says.

"I do a little gardening" I say.

"So you grew them yourself" she asks as we enter the house.

I tell her about the green house in the back garden as I serve the tea and some biscuits.

A few hours earlier in the same house.

Artie pov

"Artie" I hear Maddie call just as I enter her bedroom, I approach the bed and put the dying plant I'm trying to revive on the cabinet.

"What's wrong" I ask her.

"Could you fix my pillow" She asks.

I stand up and fix her pillow so she's comfortable, Old age has made her body so weak and frail that she is bed bound from the pain, when I sit back on the edge of the bed she glances over at the plant, putting on her glasses so she can see better.

"How romantic" she says laughing.

"Very funny, it's the draught, I brought this one in to give it some water" I say.

"Working in the greenhouse today then, this one has definitely seen better days" she says gesturing towards the plant.

"Well if you behave I might bring its younger sister in to see you later" I say.

She smiles at me then with a kiss on her cheek I leave her to rest, I take the plant with me and go back to the greenhouse, I look over all the dry and dying plants that were once beautiful fully grown flowers, I decide to replant some in the hopes that the healthy soil might help revive them, I grab my trowel and a pot, I start to fill it with soil, as I do this I take a minute to look out the window and wonder when the drought will end, since I'm not focusing on what I'm doing my hand slips and I cut myself, the sudden pain shocks me and I drop the trowel, it lands spade down lodging itself into the soil of the greenhouse floor, I leave it for now and grab a cloth to clean the cut, before I can start to clean it though the sound of rushing water comes to my ears, I turn to see water splashing up through the soil where the trowel has pierced it, I kneel down and try to dig in the soil to see where the waters coming from but some water gets into the cut causing me to pull my hand away from the sting, I decide to grab my watering can and fill it with the water, this is the first water we've had since the drought started so I'm not letting it go to waste, I put the can back on the shelf then pull the trowel out the soil, I grab the cloth again to clean my hand but realise the cut is gone, it just disappeared like it was never there, there isn't even a scar, I look back at the small puddle where the water came from, no surely water couldn't have healed my hand.

To test the theory I grab the can and pour a little bit of it on each of the plant's roots, then I stand back and watch, at first I think I'm dreaming then I realise I can't be it's far to real to be a dream, it has only taken a couple of seconds for each plant to grow and bloom into the most beautiful and healthy flowers I've ever seen, millions of questions fill my mind, what is it, where does it come from and what else can it do, to test it further I grab the can and go back to the house, entering the kitchen I grab a glass from the cupboard and fill it with the water from the can, I take it upstairs to Maddie, she's asleep so I gently wake her.

"Maddie I want you to drink some of this" I tell her.

"What is it is it time for my painkillers" she asks.

"No it's just water, have a drink" I encourage her.

"Ok" she says and taking the glass she sips it then hands it back to me.

I stand watching her for a few seconds as she settles back onto the bed, nothing happens and disappointment fills my heart, I walk to the bathroom and pour the rest of the water down the sink then place the glass on the side, I go back into the room and what I see nearly brings me to my knees, out of bed and standing beside the window is Maddie, this is the first time she has been able to get out of bed, the pain has been to much for her to walk and move around.

"You fixed the roof on the greenhouse" she says.

"Yeah last February" I say walking towards her.

I put my hands on her shoulders and turn her round, I hug her tightly and she gasps in surprise, when we pull apart I ask her.

"Would you like to dance with me"?

"What" she says laughing?

"Dance with me" I insist and she smiles and shrugs.

Minutes later we are dancing through the house, Maddie has changed into a white dress with flowers on it, she holds the watering can in her hand and is watering the plants we have in the house, she turns to me and laughs.

"How is this happening" she says.

"I don't know" I say.

She spots a plant on the window sill that is merely a small twig poking out the soil; the drought must have stopped it from growing any further.

"Looks like you could really use some of this" she says and gives it some water.

Instead of growing like the others, it disappears back into the soil.

"Oh my is it dead" Maddie asks.

I dig into the soil and find the seed, what I find is truly remarkable.

"It's like it's never been broken" I say.

"Maybe we should drink some" Maddie says coming up to me.

"I don't know what too much of this will do to us, you're out of bed that's all I wanted" I say.

"Artie, you're my whole life, what ever happens we'll always be together" she says.

I sigh deeply still not completely reassured but I agree, I get a glass from the kitchen and fill it with the water from the can, we sit opposite each other and I hand her the glass, unlike before she takes a big drink this time instead of a sip, she puts the glass on the table and we wait, it doesn't take long for the effects to start, she brings her hands up to cover her face, I can't see much of her now except the skin of her arms and hands as well as her hair.

I gasp as I realise her hair is turning brown at the top of her scalp, the brown travels down all the way to the very ends of her hair until there is not a single grey strand left, her aged skin has smoothed out and she looks slightly taller to, she uncovers her eyes and puts one hand on her forehead, I can see she's breathing deeply, the skin on her face has turned fair and she has a slight glow on her cheeks, the crinkles in her eyes have been replaced by smooth skin.

"Are you ok" I ask her.

"A bit dizzy" she says.

It's now that she opens her eyes having had them closed all this time and looks around the room, she looks shocked as she stands and looks around, she reaches up and takes off her glasses, her vision must be restored as well.

"Where am I" she asks.

"You're home" I say getting up and following her.

"This isn't my home" she says.

"Don't you remember who you are" I ask her.

"Yes I'm Maddie Coleson" she says.

"Where do you live" I ask her.

"I live with my mother and father" she says.

There's a long silence as I slowly start to realise the consequence of the water, it gives you youth but it also takes the memories you have after you're past the age you have gone back to, Maddie only remembers the last thing she did at the age she is now, which means me and her life with me has been erased.

"Did we meet in the park" she asks.

"The park" I ask confused.

"Yes at the fountain" she says.

"Yes we did" I say realising that must be the last thing she remembers.

"You fainted, I brought you here for some water" I say.

"Oh ok, well I was supposed to meet someone there" she says, and looks at the clock.

"I better get back" she says and walks to the door.

"Thank you for your help" she says and leaves.

I stand there for a few seconds not sure what to do, I gaze around the room looking at the memories we had together, my eyes land on the clock and I see the time, then it dawns on me, she has to meet someone at the fountain, she's the same age as she was when we first met and the time it's coming the same time we arranged to meet on that first day, her last memory must be the day she met me, waiting for me to show up.

I look down at the can, we can still be together, we can through our whole life together again, fall in love and have adventures together all over again, I grab the can and pour some into a glass, I tip it to my lips and almost take a sip when I remember that my memories will be erased as well and what if I'm different, what if my memories don't erase as far back, or go to far back, then I'll never meet her, I quickly walk to the desk against the wall and take a seat, I take some blank paper along with a pen and start to write.

 _ **Artie go to the park, sitting at the fountain is the most beautiful young lady you will ever meet, her name is Maddie, if you don't believe this you will when you see her, she will be the girl of your dreams.**_

I fold the paper and write on the blank side read this note in big bold letters so I'll see it, I pick the glass up and drink, dizziness comes over me and everything I know fades away.

When I open my eyes I feel like I've been asleep, what happened I think, something catches my eye and I look down to see a letter, I read it and although I'm reluctant to believe it, whoever wrote seems pretty sure, so I head of to the park, I expect to find nothing but when I arrive there she is sitting at the fountain just like the letter said.

"Excuse me are you Maddie" I ask her.

"Yes and you must be Artie" she says.

We smile at each other.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Artie pov.

It's coming late evening and Maddie has just left, I am glad that I followed the letters advice and went to find her at the park, I feel like I've known her for years though, having tea with her was like déjà vu, as if we'd done it before millions of times, also now that I look around me the house seems completely different I never noticed anything before I went to the park and I was to focused on Maddie when we got back but everything seems so different, it looks like an elderly couple have been living here instead of a young single man, I decide to have a look around and see what else is different, As I explore the house I realise some things that would never be found in a single mans house, for example women's things.

I find several women's coats and shoes in the cupboard, then when I go up to my bedroom I find makeup, hair brushes and women's clothing, something is definitely of here, when I look out the bedroom window I'm even more shocked to see there's a greenhouse out there, I used to do some gardening but it was plant pots inside the house, I never built a greenhouse, I go outside to look and I see healthy growing plants everywhere, this greenhouse has been here for years, the only new thing would be the roof which looks like it's just been repaired, I see something white on one of the shelves under a pot, I go over and lift the pot to remove what I now see is a piece of paper, I unfold it to see it's a note, it's the same handwriting as the one that guided me to Maddie, the handwriting looks like my own but I know that's crazy, I sit on the small stool in the corner and taking a deep breath I start to read.

 _ **Artie**_

 _ **I know you probably won't believe this letter so I left it here in the green house so you would be able to find the proof you need that this is the truth, I'm sure by now you've worked out that I'm the same person who wrote the letter telling you to meet Maddie and you're probably wondering who I am, I am you, I know that's hard to believe but you need to believe it, just this morning I or should I say you were an elderly man living with his elderly wife Maddie, I was working in the greenhouse when I dropped my spade, it speared the earth and water started to spout out like it would in a fountain, the reason I dropped the spade was because I cut myself on it and when I put my hand in the water the cut healed, I say again that I understand you will struggle to believe this, you and Maddie drank the water and this is how you are here now, that is why I left the note because the water erases any memories that come after the age you go back to, you can only remember the last thing you did at that age, which was meet Maddie, Now to prove it, as I said the water came from the earth in the greenhouse, so take a spade and give yourself a small cut the pierce the earth and let the water into your cut, that will prove this letter is the truth, I hope you use this second chance at youth to do what Maddie and I always wanted to do, explore the world, have fun and also have children.**_

I sit staring at the paper in shock for a few minutes, surely this can't be true, there's no way I could've done all this as an elderly man just a few hours ago, well there's only one way to find out I suppose, I go to the shelf and pick up the small trowel, I dig it into my hand and make a shallow cut it's not deep just enough for it to break the skin and bleed, I kneel down and dig the trowel into earth and lodge it in, I watch and watch and watch, nothing happens, I shake my head wondering why I was a fool to almost believe it, I get up and go to grab the white cloth that's also on the shelf to use to clean the cut, but then I hear running water. I turn around to see that there is water spurting up from the earth where the trowel is, I go and kneel in front of it again and I must be crazy but I let the water run over my hand, it stings a lot but when I pull my hand away the cut has healed there isn't even a scar.

Could it be true, could I really be married to Maddie, could we really have been elderly just a few hours ago and drunk this water to become young, I need time to process this so I grab the note and go back to the house, I sit down and think everything over, it would make sense how I felt like I had just woke up from a really long sleep and the house is different and the other note was right about Maddie, maybe it's telling the truth about this to, my thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell ringing, I open the door to find Maddie standing on the porch, she looks quite upset, so I let her in.

I lead her to the chairs so she can sit down and get her bearings, I grab a handkerchief and hand it to her so she can dry her tears, I sit down beside her and reassure her while she calms down, and once she's calm I start to talk.

"Maddie is everything ok what's wrong" I ask her,

"I went back to my mother and fathers house, when I went to open the door it was locked so I rang the doorbell, a strange man who I don't know opened the door I asked him where my mother and father was and told him there names and he said that they died years ago, how could that be" she says and tears start to form in her beautiful eyes.

"Well I know it may be hard to believe but I found a letter in the greenhouse out back that might have the answers" I say and hand her the note.

I watch as she starts to read it, a look of shock takes over her beautiful features, then confusion, I'm sure I had the same look when I read it as well, she puts the letter down when she's finished and I give her a minute to process it all before I talk.

"Are you ok" I ask her,

"Yes, I think so" she says.

"Do you believe it" I ask her.

"I'm finding it a bit difficult but it said to go and do what he did to see the water" she says.

No words are needed, I hold my hand out and she takes it, I lead her out to the garden and into the green house, I pick up the trowel and take her hand in mine, I look into her eyes seeking permission and she nods her head, being as gentle as I can I slide the side of the trowel down her skin just breaking the skin enough to make it bleed, then again I pierce the earth with the trowel, this time we don't turn away and a couple seconds later the water starts splashing out, I place her hand in the water, she gasps from the sting and after a few seconds I pull her hand out, just like mine there isn't even a faint scar, the cut is completely gone.

"It's true it really is true" she says shocked.

"I know" I say.

"I can kind of feel it" she says.

"Feel what" I ask her.

"The connection and bond we must've formed while we were married" she says.

I turn to face her and our eyes meet, they're beautiful, the shine like a thousand stars if not brighter, I have never seen anyone so beautiful and in this moment I can feel it to, the love and bond we have, it feels like we've been together for years and I know now that I will never let her come to harm.

"I feel it to" I say.

She smiles brightly and blushes, I pull the trowel from the earth and the water stops flowing, I put it back on the shelf and Maddie and I go back to the house, We sit down and we fall into a comfortable silence, then she realises something.

"If we are supposed to be old, that means that both our families are gone" she says.

"I know it's sad, but I think we should use this second chance to really live our lives to the fullest" I say.

"I think you're right, the letter was right about one thing, I have always wanted to travel the world" she says.

"Then there we have it, we'll book a flight and decide where to go first, we'll explore the world and get to know each other, so we can fall in love all over again" I say.

"That sounds like a movie, I love it, but what about the fountain" she asks.

"The fountain" I say confused.

"The water in the greenhouse, if we sell this house someone else will find it" she says.

"Well, we don't have to sell it, we'll keep it and return here when we're ready, be that be when we're older or if we have a family together" I say.

"Ok we should pack" she says and we rush upstairs.

I don't know what the future holds but I do know that I can't wait.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Artie pov

It's been a couple of weeks since everything happened. Maddie and I have been packing for our travelling plans, we're still not sure on were we're going to go but we're looking around, Maddie parents house is now owned by another family and since we're already married but can't remember it and we'll be travelling together we might as well live together, so she's been staying here with me, technically she was already moved in seeing as all the women's things in the house belong to her.

As the weeks have gone by Maddie and I are starting to feel the bond, we haven't remembered anything but we can feel the strong bond we had, I can tell we were madly in love, I can feel the feelings coming to the surface. Maddie is an amazing girl, kind, selfless, we're fast becoming great friends and I hope it becomes more.

Even though the past few weeks have been good we have noticed one problem, the neighbours have been watching us, every time we walk past someone in the street they are looking at us with a confused look on their faces, we think people may be recognising us and that's not good, if people find out they will either destroy the fountain or everyone will want to use it and we will never be left alone, also scientists will want to study it and probably us which will also result in us never being left alone, I think the best thing to do is try to stay as anonymous as we can, so leaving might be a good idea.

My thoughts are suddenly broken by the sound of Maddie calling me, I follow her voice into the kitchen to find her serving up dinner, my stomach growls from hunger, Maddie is an amazing cook, I briefly wonder if that's why I fell In love with her before, they do say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach, we sit together and have dinner just like I thought it's delicious, after dinner we go into the living room together and sit in our arm chairs beside each other, I read my newspaper and Maddie is knitting a sweater. After a little while of sitting like this just enjoying each others company Maddie speaks.

"Artie I was thinking we could go somewhere extravagant and beautiful for our first stop" she says.

"I must say I like the sound of that, did you have anywhere in mind" I ask her feeling excitement bubbling up inside me.

"Well it's your decision as well as mine of course, but when I was child I was in love with the idea of Paris and promised myself I would go there one day" she says.

I can tell by the dreamy look in her eyes and her smile that it's somewhere she really wants to go and it would mean a lot to her, I have often thought of Paris myself and what it would be like to go there.

"Why did you not go" I decide to ask her.

"Well when I had my education to get and then after that was over I had to go into work, at least that's what I remember, for all we know we could've went when we first met when we younger all those years ago, but since drinking that water and becoming young again we can't remember our life together" she says.

"Well the letter from older me did say that we should do things we always wanted to do and one of those was exploring the world, so I don't think we did go" I say.

"Oh yes so it did, I forgot about that" she says.

"Well then Paris it is" I say.

"Really" she says giving me an excited smile.

"Yes really, I'm quite curious about it myself so Paris it is" I say.

"Alright then it's decided, lets go make sure if we have everything packed and then we'll have an early night and then get up early and go straight down to the flight office first thing in the morning" she says in excitement and I follow her up the stairs.

We look through all our bags and suitcases, since we don't know how long we'll be travelling for we have packed all our belongings although we don't have much, just mainly clothes and a few books, Once we've made sure we have everything we check the time to see it is getting kind of late, we decide to wash up for bed, I let Maddie use the bathroom first, even though we have continued to live together we still don't remember each other, so we have agreed to go slow and get to know each other again, even though we can feel the love between us we know we need to build it up again first before we're intimate, in fact Maddie has been sleeping in the guest room so far because we will like sleeping in the same bed straight away is a big step to take.

We packed everything but our toiletries, they will be packed just before we leave once we have used them, we can easily take any clothes we need to wear out of our bags, since Maddie is then the guest room her bags are in there with her to make things easier.

I go through my bag and grab some night clothes for tonight, I also take a book and book mark out to read while Maddie is using the bathroom, I sit down on the bed and begin to read, twenty minutes later I hear the door opening and then Maddie appears in the doorway of my room, I put my book down and smile at her.

"That's me finished in the bathroom, it's all yours and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning" She says.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow and have a good nights sleep" I say as I get up and walk over to the doorway.

I stop in front of her, I know we're taking things slowly but the gentleman in me just can't stop himself, I lean down and kiss her cheek, her soft, warm skin feels nice on my lips, she smiles and blushes light pink.

"I'll see you in the morning" she says again before turning and going into her room.

I go to the bathroom and start to fill the bath with water so I can wash, once the tub is filled I strip of my clothes and put them in the washing hamper and then climb in the tub.

It doesn't take long for me to wash only a few minutes so once I'm done I drain the water from the bath and climb out, I dry myself off and put on my pyjamas, Next I go to the sink and fill it with warm soupy water, I wash my face and then drain the dirty water to refill it again, this time I use it to shave, ten afterwards I drain it again for the last time, I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste for the last step of preparing for bed, once that's done I go back to my bedroom, I switch of the room light and put the small bedside lamp on, I climb into bed and read some more of my book before I go to sleep.

Maddie pov

I open my eyes and look out the window to see a bright sunny day, I get out of bed and go to my suitcases that are on the floor, I pick a summer dress for today because it looks warm outside, I go to the bathroom and as I walk through the hall, the sound of Arties soft snores tell me he's still asleep, I decide to let him sleep for now while I have my morning wash and make us some breakfast.

Once I'm dressed and feeling fresh I go downstairs to the kitchen, It's a big change for me, the last thing I remember was sitting down on the fountain bench to meet with Artie for the first time, but when he arrived and we came back to his house, I discovered that we had got married and lived a whole life together and that just a couple of days ago we were elderly and by drinking some magic water we became young and in back to our twenties with no memories of our life together at all.

It's a lot to take in and get used to but the one thing that makes me believe it the most is the bond I feel with him, it's like the air is a live wire when he's around, two people who just met a couple of days ago shouldn't have a connection like this just yet, it's a lot to take in but I'm excited, I can't wait to build new memories with him and you never know maybe someday our old memories will come back to us and we'll remember our previous life together when we were younger then as well.

I start to prepare bacon and eggs for breakfast; I've quickly learned that a boiled egg with buttered egg and bacon slices is Artie's favourite breakfast. He like the bread sliced up so he can dip it in the egg. I fill up a small pot with water and place the egg on it, I leave it on the stove to boil and fill a pan with bacon and cooking oil. It doesn't take long before the mouth watering smell of bacon is floating around the house and I must admit that I quite enjoy having this for breakfast as well, normally I would just have cereal but I tried this just the other day with Artie and I couldn't deny it was good.

The smell of cooking food must act as an alarm clock because I hear someone entering, I turn to see Artie coming to stand beside me, I smile at him in greeting and he gets the bread and butter out, he takes two slices one for me and one for himself and butters then slices them up, I plate the bacon splitting it between us and then turn my attention to the eggs.

Once those are finished and plated up we sit down to eat together, I like how we can sit in a comfortable silence and it not be awkward or weird. We're so comfortable with each other but we've still agreed to take things slow, I'm not sure what we're planning to do when we stay at the hotels whether we'll have separate rooms or try and get one room with two beds, I think one room with two beds will be ok because so far living together in this house has worked really well, Once we finish breakfast we head out to go to the flight office and book a flight to Paris.

"So when should we book the flight for" I ask him as we head in that direction.

"Well It's Tuesday today so how about we try and get next this Monday coming that way we've got time to make sure we have everything" Artie suggests.

"Yeah I think that sounds like a good idea" I agree with him.

"Alright so come this Monday we should hopefully be on our way to Paris" he says and we give each other an excited smile.

We get to the flight office and take a seat until someone can see us; they look a bit busy today so we prepare ourselves for a long wait. An hour and a half later a women comes out and asks us to follow her to her office, we stand and go with her, we sit down at her desk and she gives us a warm smile.

"So you guys are hoping to talk about or maybe book a flight today" she asks.

"We were hoping to book a flight today" Artie says.

"Alright then, do you know where you guys want to go" she asks us.

"Yeah we were thinking Paris" I say.

"Nice choice, do you have an idea on what day you were hoping to go on" she asks.

"Well we were hoping Monday" Artie says.

"I'll have a look and see if we have anything for Monday in our flight book" she says and leaves the office.

She's gone for a couple of minutes and when she comes back she's smiling so I take that as a good sign, she sits down behind the desk again.

"So we have a couple of flights for this Monday, our earliest one is at half six in the morning and then they carry on throughout the day so it's just really the closest time that would work for you guys" she says.

Artie and I look at each other and seem to read each others minds, we turn back to her and Artie says.

"We'll take the half six flight" he says.

"Ok so I'll get all that booked and then we'll send you your tickets through mail, you should receive them in a couple of days" she says.

"Thanks very much" we say together.

The rest of the meeting is just us giving her our address so she can send us the tickets by post then we thank her again and leave, we decide to walk round the park and sit at the fountain there for a little while.

The next couple of days pass by in a blur, we get the flight tickets and make sure that everything is ready to go, we were slightly worried because while we're gone the plants in the house and green house will die, but then we remembered the fountain water will probably bring them back to life, so everything is sorted and before we know it Sunday night has arrived, we have an early dinner and go to bed early as well so we don't sleep late.

The next morning we are up early and feeling very sleepy, we do our normal morning routine and leave the house for the airport, even though we're tired we're excited, we arrive at the airport and check in, before long we are on the plane and settling down in our seats and waiting for take off, I can't wait to get to Paris, our whole future is in front of us and I've never been more happier to face it head on.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Maddie pov

My eyes flutter open at the feeling of the plane starting to descend, we must be landing, I look across to see Artie sleeping beside me with a blanket over him, since we're starting to land the seatbelt light is on, I gently shake Artie awake and his eyes open and look to me.

"Hey we need to fasten our seatbelts we're landing" I explain.

"Ok we should hand these blankets and pillows back first though" he says and I agree.

I take the pillow out from behind me and fold up the blanket, the stewardess notices what we're doing and comes over.

"I'll just take those for you folks if you are finished with them" She says giving us a kind smile.

"Yes please thank you" we say and hand her them.

"I hope the flight was enjoyable and that you enjoy your time In Paris, good day" she says and with another kind smile and a thank you from us she walks away.

We fasten our seatbelts and my stomach flips as we dip closer to the ground, a few seconds later we hear the bump and feel the jolt of being on the ground again, The planes speed slowly decreases until it comes to a stop, the seatbelt light goes off and we unbuckle, Since Artie and I only brought suitcases we don't have anything to get out of the overhead compartments so we exit the plane and enter the airport, since it's late at night in Paris the airport is quiet and collecting our luggage and going through customs doesn't take as long as it normally would.

When we exit the airport there are plenty of cabs for us, we put our luggage in the trunk, we are still getting used to how different cars are now but I'm sure we'll get the hang of things, It's been the technology that's been the biggest problem so far, there are things called microwaves, computers, wireless phones that I think are called mobiles, there's so many new things it's hard to keep up, but we've been lucky so far that everything has had instructions on how to use them.

We get in the cab and head towards the nearest hotel, on our way there we pass the Eiffel tower and it looks beautiful all lit up, the lights shine brightly and it's breathtaking, I can't take my eyes off it as we drive past and then I feel a twinge of sadness when it disappears from sight, Artie notices and leans over.

"Don't worry we'll make that our first stop tomorrow" he says and my smile is back.

Despite sleeping on the plane my eyes are still heavy from the need to sleep from all the flying, I believe they call it jetlag now, Just as I'm about to dose of the cab stops and I see we are outside a hotel, Artie pays the driver as we have learned is done and then we grab our luggage and head inside, I'm pretty sleepy and everything seems to go by pretty fast, Artie gets us a room and we head up in the big metal box that's called an elevator, they carry you up or down to the floor you need to go to, I follow Artie to our room and we put our suitcases in a corner where we won't fall over them, we go about our usual routine washing up for bed and turn out the lights, tomorrow is a new day, in a new place that's ready to be explored.

Artie pov

My eyes open and I can see a thin beam of light coming through the curtains, I look over and see Maddie lying beside me, when I tried to book us separate rooms last night the hotel didn't have enough so we've had to share a room, Maddie seemed so tired last night that I don't think she realised, as soon as she lay down she was fast asleep, she's still sleeping now so I get out of bed and go to the main sitting area, there's a restaurant downstairs where we can have breakfast, I think while I wait for Maddie to wake I'll get myself washed and dressed for the day.

I quietly slip back into the bedroom and grab some fresh clothes and my toiletries from my suitcase; I head to the bathroom and switch on the shower.

A couple minutes later I'm out the shower and ready for breakfast and the day ahead, I go into the bedroom to check on Maddie and I see she's sitting up in bed looking more awake today.

"Morning Maddie" I say.

She looks a bit shocked and says.

"We're in the same room"

"Yes I tried to get us separate rooms while we're still getting to know each other again but they didn't have enough rooms left for that, they're full now" I explain.

"Oh that's ok we are married after all and we might get to know each other quicker sharing a room" she says and I agree.

I go to sit in the living room while she washes up and gets dressed, A few minutes later she's ready go making sure I have the key we leave the room and lock the door behind us, we head down to the restaurant where they are serving breakfast. We're a bit earlier than everyone else so we find a table easily because the place is pretty quiet, we both order croissants and coffee, this is the first time I've had a croissant before but as soon as I take my first bite I understand why it's a popular choice for breakfast, The pastry is soft and filling and the coffee isn't to strong with just the right amount of cream in it, I have no doubt that we'll enjoy the food here.

Once we've finished eating we're still at the table sipping on our coffee, I think the best thing to do would be to visit the Eiffel tower tonight so we can see it lit up, I think Maddie would love that, we just need to find something to do for the day.

"So I've been thinking" I start to voice my thoughts to Maddie.

"And what are you thinking about" she asks.

"Well I was thinking if we leave the Eiffel tower until tonight when it's dark so we'll get to see it with it's lights on" I continue.

"Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea" she agrees.

"So why don't we go to another place for the day then we can have dinner then go to the Eiffel tower" I say.

"Yes that sounds perfect, I think I saw a little booklet in the lobby that had loads of places you could go to in it" she says.

"Well let's finish our coffee and go have a look" I say.

We fall into a comfortable silence while we finish our coffee, then once we're done we pay the bill and head towards the lobby, Like Maddie said there are small booklets on the desk, I pick one up and open it up, Inside is a list of places and attractions we can visit, on the back is a large map showing the way to each one, we go to sit on one of the lobby chairs and have a look through the booklet, there's museums, shops and the Eiffel tower is on there to but we already agreed to leave that until later.

Finally after a long time thinking we decide to go to the museum de l'Orangerie, it's an art museum. We use the map to find our way there but also look around and take in our surroundings. Paris is beautiful and even without the attractions there's enough shops to keep one busy for a life time. The streets are busy, filled with tourists and people going to work but the atmosphere is still good, the sun is warm and the bright cloudless sky shows the makings of a beautiful sunny day.

It takes a little while since we have to weave through the crowds but eventually we make it to the huge building that is our destination, as soon as we enter our breath escapes us. The art pieces are exquisite, from the colourful paintings on the wall to the sculptures that are placed around the room, we don't waste anytime and start looking round and admiring everything.

The museum is huge, we enter room after room and go up floor after floor, everywhere we look we see something different, no two pieces are the same, I think that's what I love best about it, everything is different and unique, some are happy, some are sad, some are bright and colourful others are dark and twisted but they are all beautiful in their own way, you can't get much better than that, but there is one more thing that bests everything and makes my day, when I look at Maddie she has the biggest smile possible on her face, her eyes are bright and shining with excitement. She's loving every moment we spend in here and that makes me the happiest man on earth, My heart swells and my stomach feels like it has a thousand butterflies in it and if I had any doubts about the letter before I know now that it was right, Maddie is the love of my life and I will never let her go, I just hope she will feel the same for me.

Maddie pov.

The museum was so big that when we finally exit and check the time its three o'clock in the afternoon, we decide to go back to the hotel and change into fresh clothes for dinner since it's a hot day and it was hot in the museum, then instead of eating in the hotel restaurant we have decided to dine in the Eiffel tower restaurant, by the time we get freshened up and arrive it will be dark and the lights will be on, then after dinner we are going to take the elevator up to the top and look over the city, this was all Artie's idea, if he was this romantic when we met the first time I don't blame myself for falling in love and marrying him.

Even now when we are having to get to know each other again I can already feel my heart fluttering at the sight of him, we're taking a leisurely walk back to the hotel, since it's late afternoon the streets are quiet, the sun beats down and it feels nice to breath in the fresh air with the scent of bakeries mixed in, an hour and a pleasant walk later we are back at the hotel and riding up the elevator to our room, I still find these elevators strange but they do come in handy, we unlock our room door and enter, ever the gentleman Artie lets me freshen up first while he reads a book, I grab fresh clothes and toiletries from my suitcases and head to the bathroom.

A couple minutes later and I'm out and ready to go, since we're having dinner in the Eiffel Tower I wanted to dress up and look nice, so I'm wearing a knee length strapless pink dress with pink high heeled shoes, I'll probably regret those later when the blisters form but for now they look and feel good, it's nice to feel pretty every now and again. When I go into the front room Artie looks up from his book and his jaw hit's the floor.

"Maddie you look beautiful" he says and I blush and smile.

"Thank you Artie, I'm finished in the bathroom if you want to go and get and freshen up" I say still blushing.

"Yes I think I might, I shan't be long" he says.

He bookmarks his book then exits to go to the bathroom, I sit down and wait, true to his word he's only a few minutes, this time my jaw hit's the floor as he enters the room with a black suit and tie on with a crisp white shirt underneath, he's the most handsome man I have ever seen, my heart is thumping, the butterflies are back and I'm shocked and embarrassed to feel heat travelling through my body to the lower parts wakening my inner goddess and libido from what feels like a long hibernation.

"Ready to go" he asks me.

"Yes of course" I say and stand up.

We lock the door behind us and he offers me his arm and I take it, we walk to the elevator like this side by side, we descend down to the lobby and leave the hotel, like this time we get a cab to take us there, It's not long before we arrive, Artie pays the driver and we get out, the tower is huge and seems to get bigger as we approach it, even though it's evening time it's still fairly warm which I'm thankful for since when Artie presses the elevator call button we discover it is all the way at the top and we need to wait a while for it to arrive, it has to stop a couple of times to pick up people who want to come down to the ground but eventually after a few minutes it arrives, we let the current people off then enter it ourselves, it's only us in there which is nice since with other people in here it gets a bit cramped and claustrophobic.

We arrive in the restaurant and exit the elevator, a waiter approaches us and helps us find a table for two, we are beside the windows so we can look out on the street, it's nice seeing the city all lit up and I can't wait until after dinner when we can go to the very top, the waiter gives us the drinks menu, We order a bottle of rose wine, the waiter takes the menu's and is back with the wine in just a few moments, he pours some into to glasses for us then leaves the bottle on the table for us to refill our glasses as we choose, he then gives us a starter menu and leaves us to decide.

We both decide to order the creamy chestnut soup with cep mushrooms and Grisons dried beef for the starter, the waiter comes to take our order when he sees us put our menu's down, once he takes a note of what we want he disappears to the kitchen.

"So have you enjoyed our first day here" Artie asks me.

"Yeah it's so beautiful here" I say looking out the window and down onto the street.

"What about you are you enjoying the first day here" I ask him.

"Yeah I am, but I would enjoy myself no matter where we were as long as you were with me" he says.

"Really" I ask him smiling and blushing.

"Yeah as long as you're with me my life will never be sad" he says.

"Artie that's so sweet, I feel like that to" I say.

We smile at each other and gaze into each others eyes, it feels like the world has disappeared and it's just us together, nothing else matters, our comfortable silence is broken by the waiter putting our plates down in front of us, we thank him and begin to eat.

The rest of the dinner goes smoothly, we make conversation easily like we always seem to do, once we finish desert we have another glass of wine and just sit and talk about things, we end up talking about where would like to go next.

"I think we should space it out, live here for a couple of years then live somewhere else for a couple of years and then go home" he says.

"Sounds good so since this was my choice you can make the next one where have you always wanted to go" I ask him.

"Mmmmm Italy" he says.

"I love the sound of that, so we can stay here for say three years and then in Italy for three years that's us been away for exactly six years I call that a hearty adventure" I say and he agrees.

We finish our wine and pay the bill, then we head towards the elevator and ride up to the very top of the tower, when we exit the elevator the warm breeze gently blows my hair, we step out and walk up the edge, we look over one of the most breath taking views I've ever seen, the city looks beautiful all lit up, the stars are shining brightly in the sky and the moon looks like a bright white orb.

I look to Artie to see he is in awe of the view as well, sensing my eyes on him he turns to me and we smile at each other.

"I couldn't think of a better way to get to know you, than in the romantic city of romance" Artie says.

Words escape me at this moment as he moves closer to me, when he's directly in front of me he runs his hand down my cheek, shivers run down my spine and I lean into his soft touch, his other hand comes to my other cheek so my face is cupped in his hands, he leans down towards me and I tilt my head towards him, our eyes flutter closed as our lips touch and mould together in a slow sensuous kiss, when we part for breath we lock eyes and I can see we are on the same page, no matter what, no matter where, we will always be together and nothing will break us apart, we are the love of each others lives.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Artie pov

I open my eyes and look down to see Maddie cuddled into my chest, after sharing our first kiss last night we came back to the hotel room and just talked and cuddled for the rest of the night, it was amazing to just talk and get to know each other and that kiss on the Eiffel tower I have never been more alive than I was last night.

Maddie stirs in my arms and her eyes flutter open, she smiles at me and I smile back at her when our eyes meet, she blushes a little and I have a feeling she remembers the tower as well, I chuckle slightly then gently pull her closer to me.

"Morning Maddie how did you sleep" I ask her.

"Morning Artie I slept very well thank you" she says and snuggles closer.

"What shall we do today" I ask her.

"Mmmmm, anything just as long as it's as perfect as yesterday and last night" she says.

"Oh I don't know that will be pretty hard to beat it was pretty perfect wasn't it" I say.

"Yes it was, Artie it made me think of something" she says.

"What is it Maddie you sound worried all of a sudden" I ask her.

"Well I don't remember much of when we met before but I remember my life before I met you and that's enough to know that my past relationships never went very far in the intimate department in fact it was known existent" she says.

"Which means" I ask still a puzzled.

"You were my first Artie" she says.

"I was" I say and feel a swell of happiness at this.

"But that means that it was after a life together and since the water reversed all that does that mean that it reversed that to and I'm a virgin again" she says.

"Mmmm that is a good point, well at least we've realised this which means if you trust me enough to be intimate with you I will be as gentle as possible alright so you have nothing to fear" I say to reassure her.

"Thank you Artie, you always know what to say, now how abut we go look at that booklet to see where we can go today" she says.

I follow her lead as we get out of bed and head into the main living area and we sit down on the couch, Maddie picks the booklet up from the table and we start to read through it, something catches Maddie's eye and she points it out.

"What about the Tuileries Garden, sounds like a lovely place, you can walk around it or sit and watch the birds in the ponds, and we could even ask the hotel to make a picnic for us" she says.

"Yes I think that sounds perfect" I say.

We put the book back on the table and I let Maddie use the bathroom first to get washed and dressed, Once she's done I go to do the same, it takes a little time but we finally manage how to work the phone and ask the reception to have a picnic basket made for us, a few minutes later they call back to tell us it's ready, which is good timing since we're ready to. We head downstairs and pick up the picnic basket as we pass the reception, then using the map we find our way to the garden.

We enter through the gate and take a look around, it's a bright sunny day again so the place is packed with people, the picture in the booklet didn't do it justice, it's beautiful, we walk down to the picnic benches in front of the first pond and sit down. We start to dig through the basket to see what there is. There's sandwiches made with French bread, French meat and French spread, There's various cheeses to break apart and eat or to also use as spread, Grapes and strawberries for dessert and white wine to drink.

It looks delicious, I enjoyed the French food last night and I hope I will continue to enjoy it. We start with the sandwiches and just like I though they taste good. The bread is soft, the meat tender and the spread adds a nice sweet taste to both of them, while we eat we continue to look around the park, there are plenty of tourists like us and there are also locals enjoying a nice family day out. There are also people out exercising and jogging.

"So what do you want to do tonight" I ask Maddie.

"Well I think we should go to a nice restaurant again for dinner, and then I'm sure there was a page that had places you could go to at night" she says and she pulls the booklet from her bag.

We look through it together as we eat some of the cheeses in the basket, there's loads of things to do and it's difficult to decide but I would like Maddie to choose again, since this was where she always wanted to go I think it's fair that she chooses what we do while we are here, so I look at the places with her but don't suggest anything to her. After another few minutes of looking something catches her eye.

"What about this, we would have to go and buy suits but it sounds lovely" she says.

I look over her shoulder to see she's pointing to a public outdoor swimming pool that's open at night, it's called the Piscine Pontoise, and I have to say it does look nice and relaxing.

"Yes I think that's a splendid idea, we can finish our lunch take a walk through the garden then go look in the shops for some swimming things" I say.

"Good idea" she says and we move on the dessert fruit.

The wine is sweet as well and goes well with the fruit, I prefer sweet to dry wine and I've learned that Maddie is the same, once we finish eating and feel we have had enough wine, we don't want to drink to much since it's only early afternoon we put all the scraps back in the basket and start taking a slow walk around the park. We look around and enjoy the scenery. I breathe in the fresh air and the smell of the bakeries on the street just outside the park.

We made a good choice coming to Paris; it was definitely worth the trip. After walking round the park we exit out onto the street and start to look around for a shop that sells swim wear, even though the pool probably lets you borrow swim wear it's probably easier to buy some in case we need them in the future, we finally find a shop and go inside They have everything a swimmer needs, towels, suits, goggles, floats, armbands and more, we decide we'll need towels, suits and goggles.

I head towards the trunks while Maddie goes to the girls suits, I look through the different sizes trying to find a pair that fit me, I find a pair and pick them up, they're pale blue with white strips on the side, I decide on these and go back to Maddie, she to has picked out a blue swimsuit.

"Hey look we match" she says and giggles.

We have a laugh together then go in search of towels and goggles, we grab a green and a blue towel then a pair of goggles each as well, satisfied we have what we need we go the checkout and pay, we decide to go back to the hotel so we can get ready for dinner, swimming won't be until later on tonight anyway so we should be ok to eat first and we've agreed we'll have a light meal, we arrive in our room and start to get dressed for dinner, I put on a sweater with black dress trousers. Just like last night my jaw hit's the floor when Maddie enters the main room, she's wearing a knee length strapless red dress with red high heel shoes, and she looks stunning.

"Maddie you look amazing" I tell her.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself" she says and gives me a shy smile.

I hold my arm out for her and she links hers in, we walk arm and arm to the elevator, we're still getting used to these but they are a nice development from having to walk up and down stairs all the time, we travel down to the ground floor lobby and head out the hotel, we haven't really looked at any specific restaurants we're just planning to walk the streets and choose anything that catches our eye, we don't have to walk for long. We soon come upon a cosy place with a French name I can't pronounce, we decide on this one and enter.

As soon as we enter we are shown to a table for two and handed drinks menus, the staff seem very nice which a necessity for me is when it comes to eating out. We both decide on a bottle of French white wine, the waiter goes away and returns within minutes, he opens the bottle and pours us each a glass, we take a sip and the sweet liquid slips down my throat pleasantly.

"That wine has a very nice taste to it" I say aloud.

"Yes I agree, it's sweet but not to sweet, just right" she says.

We smile at each other then accept the food menu's the waiter passes to us, I scan the menu until something catches my eye, ratatouille I wonder what that's like, my curiosity is burning so I decide to try it, having made my choice I put my menu down, Maddie glances up and asks.

"What are you having?"

"My curiosity is feeling adventurous so I'm going to try the ratatouille" I say.

"Where's that, oh there it is, it does look nice I think I'll try that one as well" she says.

She puts her menu down and we wave the waiter over, he pulls out his notepad and pen to note down our order then smiles at Maddie to show he's ready for her to say what she wants to eat.

"I'll have the ratatouille please" she says.

"Good choice mademoiselle" he says then turns to me.

"I'll have the same please" I say.

"Of course monsieur, two ratatouille coming right up" he says then turns to go back to the kitchen.

"So I'm a little nervous to try this" Maddie says.

"So am I but all the food so far has been delicious so that's soothing" I say smiling.

"That's a very good point" she agrees.

"So what are we doing after we go to the pool" I ask her.

"Well I was thinking we could just go back to the hotel and relax for the rest of the night" she says.

"Sound perfect" I say.

The waiter brings our food and we start to eat, the ratatouille is tastes divine, there's so many different flavours it makes your mouth water, I can tell Maddie is enjoying it to, we eat all of it and finish our glasses of wine, we haven't drunk much wine since we're going swimming, we need to keep our heads clear for that, my gentleman nature takes over and I pay the bill before Maddie gets the chance I also give the waiter a tip for his kind services, he thanks us gratefully.

"So shall we head back to the hotel and get ready for the pool" I say.

"Yes lets" she agrees.

We link arms as we leave the restaurant and head back towards the hotel, we take the elevator up to our room and change into comfy easy to remove clothes, we already packed our swimming things into a bag so they are all ready to go, we grab the bag and head back downstairs, Maddie is getting all excited because hasn't been swimming in a while and she says she loves swimming, it's a bit further away so we decide to take a cab there, we talk quietly in the back as the driver takes us to the pool, we have a laugh and a giggle, I always feel really light hearted and ready to take on the world when I'm with Maddie, it feels like nothing in the world can hurt us as long as we're together.

We arrive at the pool and I pay the driver as we get out the car, we look at each other excitedly then head inside the building where the reception is, this bit and the changing rooms are indoor then there's a backdoor in the changing rooms that leads to the back of the building where the pool is, we pay our fee and head through, like most swimming pools the changing rooms are separate for men and women so we part ways and plan to meet at the pool, I find a cubical to change in and take my clothes of and put my trunks on, I make sure they are tight at the waist so they don't come of and then put my clothes in my locker then lock it with my key. I tie the strap the key is attached to around my ankle so I don't lose it in the pool and walk to the back door, just as I exit the door and look to my side I see Maddie coming through the women's changing room door, she spots me and we walk towards each other.

"Ladies first" I say gesturing to the ladder leading into the pool.

"Why thank you kind sir" she says and starts to climb down.

Once her feet touch the floor of the pool she moves of the side to give me room to climb in, we seem to be lucky that the pool isn't busy therefore it's very quiet, we swim side by side along the pool just enjoying the cool water relaxing our muscles. We continue to swim for a little while longer before we stop to rest.

"It's so beautiful here" Maddie says.

"Yeah I couldn't agree more" I say.

We smile at each other and then just enjoy the peaceful tranquillity, other than a couple mutters from the other people here and the sound of the water moving there is complete silence and it's perfect, we continue like this for what feels like hours, swimming together side by side and then stopping to either talk, rest or enjoy the peace, for the whole time we're there the pool remains quiet and it's still quiet when we decide to get out, we go our separate ways to get dried of and dressed then we meet again in the reception, we hand our locker keys back and leave to head back to the hotel, when we get to our room we decide to lie in bed and read.

We change into our pyjamas and jump in to bed, for a some reason an electric tension fills the room when we get in to bed I think Maddie feels it to because her breathing gets slightly heavier, I look over to her and I feel the sudden urge to kiss her, to cherish every inch of her, but I don't know if she would let me so soon, but every part of me is screaming that there's only one way to find out, so taking a chance I cup her face in my hands and kiss her deeply and passionately, she returns the kiss instantly and wraps her arms around my neck, I lay her down and she doesn't stop me when I start to kiss her neck and unbutton her pyjama top, she doesn't stop me at all and we make love for the first time, it is the happiest I've ever been, afterwards she cuddles in to my bare chest our naked bodies pressed together as if they are one and whispers the words I've been dying to hear.

"I love you Artie"

"I love you to Maddie" I whisper back.

We fall asleep like that in each others arms.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Maddie pov

Living in Paris has been an amazing experience, Over the next couple of years Artie and I spend our days exploring everywhere, we even decide to buy a house so we don't have to live in the hotel, of course our love of plants is used in decorating, we have house plants inside and we also decorate the huge garden outside with various plants and flowers. Our life here is good, perfect even, our love for each other is growing stronger every day and I believe nothing will separate us. The seasons are passing by quickly and I start to notice Artie and I are changing, both our hairs our getting lighter and turning slightly grey, Our smooth skin is slowly getting wrinkled and we're getting tired more easily. As the seasons continue to pass we grow older and older and start to do less and less.

I seem to be getting more and more tired, even easier than Artie does, in fact more often than not we return from trips earlier because I've gotten too tired to go any further. Now we spend our days sitting in the living room, Artie reads the newspaper and I read my books, it's one of these days that Artie turns to me and asks me something.

"Maddie have you thought about what you want to do now" he asks.

"What do you mean Artie" I ask slightly puzzled.

"Well we're starting to get older again and so we have a choice to make, we can go home and drink more of the fountain water and continue living our lives to the fullest for a little while longer, or we can live out the rest of our days here and pass on to the next life together" he says.

I think about it for a second, we have had an amazing time here but there is one thing we didn't do that I've always wanted but I got so wrapped up in Paris that I forgot about it, I've just remembered it now and my heart aches for it, I've always wanted to have a baby and I know Artie would make a fantastic father, with that thought my decision is made.

"I think I would like to drink more and start again, there are a few things I would still like to do" I say.

"Then the decision is made, I'll start packing then I'll book us a flight, we must do it as soon as possible before we get any weaker" he says and I know he's right.

Over the next couple of days we pack all our personnel belongings, we decide to keep the house just in case we remember and decide to come back here some day, Artie has booked our flights but I'm starting to worry about the long journey back, I'm getting weaker every day, the weakness is mostly in my legs and most days I can't even get out of bed. Finally Artie finishes the packing and the day our flight is booked for arrives, we get up at 5am and call a cab, we get ready as quick as we can and the cab arrives just as we are getting our shoes and coats on. We grab our luggage and head out.

We arrive at the airport right on time and start going through customs and security checks, I'm thankful that there are no delays and we are soon sitting on the plane and getting buckled in for takeoff.

A long trip later

I breath a sigh of relief as I lay down on the bed in our room, it feels as if a million years have passed since I was last in this room and yet I've lived in it for many years before that last memory that I can't remember, I wonder if we'll lose all of our Paris memories as well. I feel a pang of pain in my heart at the thought, these past years getting to know Artie again have been amazing, these thoughts are broken by the man himself walking into the room, we smile at each other then since it's late at night we decide to get ready for bed and we'll drink the water tomorrow morning.

We wander from the bedroom to the bathroom getting washed up and dressed in our night clothes, when we're ready we make sure all the lights are off then climb into bed, giving each other a sweet kiss goodnight we cuddle up and fall asleep.

I'm Awoken by the sun shining in my eyes and I open to see the curtains wide open, we must have been so tired last night we forgot to close them, I can feel Arties arms around me holding me to his chest and I snuggle back against him, he kisses my cheek and I can hear the smile in his voice when he says.

"Good morning beautiful lady" he says.

"Good morning handsome man" I say back.

We smile at each other and just lay there for a few minutes staring into each others eyes, after a few minutes have passed Artie breaks the silence.

"So why don't we have some breakfast" he says.

"Sounds good to me" I say.

We get out of bed and go down to the kitchen, Artie has to help me down the stairs because my legs are very sore and stiff today, I have some back pain as well, but I keep myself going by thinking that in just a little while, we'll drink the water and all the pain will go away, I sit down at the kitchen table and Artie starts to make us breakfast, we've started eating healthy as we got older and we now eat only porridge for breakfast, It doesn't take long to make and soon we are sitting together and just eating in silence so we can enjoy each others company. The comfortable silence lingers for a few minutes after we've finished eating, Artie washes and puts away the dishes then comes to sit down again.

"Are you ready" he asks me.

I know what he means and I nod my head, he smiles then goes out the back door to the garden, I watch him out the window and he disappears into the greenhouse.

Artie pov

I enter the greenhouse and pick the trowel up from the shelf, I kneel down on the ground and use the tool to pierce the earth, Just like before water starts flowing from it, I grab the watering can and hold it under the water to fill it up, once I'm sure we have enough for both of us I put the can down and pull the trowel from the earth, I put it back on the shelf and grabbing the can head back towards the house, I can see Maddie smiling at me from the kitchen window, I smile back at her as I enter.

I put the can on the table and go towards the cupboards, I take out two glasses and take them to the table, I pour the water from the can into the two glasses and then hand one to Mandy.

We start to raise the glasses to our lips but then I notice her hesitate for a moment.

"Is something wrong love" I ask her.

"No it's just, well what if we lose our memories again, how will we know what's happened and what if we go our separate ways, we might never see each other again" she says.

"Well there's a way to solve to that" I say.

She watches me as I go into the living room, I take two pieces of paper and two pens and bring them back through, I hand one paper and pen to her and keep hold of the other ones, she smiles knowing what my idea is and we start to write letters to our younger selves explaining everything about the fountain and Paris, Once we're done we put the pens down, I finish before Maddie and I can see she's added a small note to the bottom of her letter, I wonder what its about but don't press her.

We smile at each other and she lifts her glass, knowing that means she's ready now I lift my glass to, we raise them to our lips and taking a deep breath first we both take a drink at the same time, I start to feel dizzy, so I close my eyes to help the feeling wear off, I feel like I'm shrinking a bit, but I put it down to the dizziness, Finally what feels like an eternity the feeling finally passes.

I open my eyes and I'm looking down at my hands, I seem to be sitting at a kitchen table, there's a clear empty glass in my hand and a piece of paper with writing on it lies on the table with a pen next to it, I recognise the writing as my own but don't remember writing anything a few moments ago, in fact the last thing I remember was going to sleep in my room at my parents house last night, I start to read the writing and I discover it's a letter, but what surprises me is it's a letter written by me but it's also addressed to me, I continue to read the letters contents, it explains that I have been married for many years to a beautiful girl named Maddie, We grew old together and apparently I found water in the earth of the greenhouse in the garden, we drank it and became young again, the water erased the memories we had of our older age and we could only remember previous memories, we went to Paris together and fell in love all over again as we travelled and explored, we got married, bought a house and lived our lives in Paris together, then when we were old again we decided to come home and drink the water again.

I finish reading and feel a bit stunned, how could all this be possible, even at my age I'm struggling to believe this, there's only one way to know for sure, go out to the green house and pierce the earth with something sharp, Movement catches my eye and I look up to see a young girl the same age as me 16 years old sitting on the chair opposite me, she has long light brown hair and naturally flushed cheeks that seem to glow, well if the letter was right about anything it was that she was beautiful, she looks at me and I can tell she's just finished reading her letter as well, I signal for her to follow me and we go out to the greenhouse, there's a trowel on the shelf, I take it down and pierce the earth, water flows out, I look up at the girl I assume is Maddie.

"It's true" she gasps.

"It would seem so" I say.

"So what do we do now" she asks.

I wanted to give her an answer but honestly I didn't know, so we just sat there and watched the water flow out of the earth.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Maddie pov

After staring at the water coming out of the earth for a few more minutes Artie finally reached forward and removed the trowel from the earth, as soon as he did the water stopped flowing, we decided to go back to the house and sit in the kitchen while we decided what to do next. We just sit for what seems like ages in silence then I remember something that was written in my letter, it told me to stay with Artie because we would fall in love and get married one day but it also told me that we should explore and have fun together, live life to the fullest. My young teenage mind starts to think of all the fun things we could do and tries to pick the perfect one.

"Our letters told us to have fun and live life to the fullest and I think I have the most perfect idea" I say.

"Really and what would that be" he asks.

"Well since we're kids I think we should find out what new things this time has for kids to do so I think we should spend our days trying them all" I suggest.

"Sounds like a fantastic idea, we'll get the chance to see what this new time is like, but we'll need money to do these things" he says.

I don't know if it's a memory that could be coming back to me but for some reason there is a voice in the back of my mind telling me to go and look under the floorboards inside the wardrobe, standing I head upstairs I know it sounds ridiculious but it's worth a shot, I enter the master bedroom and go to the wardrobe I open the doors and bending down I can see that the floorboards aren't fitted properly. I reach out and manage to life one up underneath it is a little hiding spot that contains a box, I carefully lift the box and open it, Inside is a large sum of money and when I say large it's enough for one to live comfortably for years, I wonder why we have this saved if we're old aged, I wish I could remember.

Taking the money back downstairs I show it to Artie and he gasps at the large amount in the box, We search the house quickly for a bag to put the money in to keep it safe while we're out and manage to find a handbag with a purse in it, I put the money in then put the bag over my shoulder now that the money is safe Artie and I find the key to the front door and head out.

The first thing that we notice after just a few minutes of walking outside is everyone is dressed differently to us and it makes us stand out a bit, it makes me wonder maybe we should pick up some new clothes that match these people so we don't stand out as much, not a not of people would believe in a magical fountain and if they did they would want to use it for themselves and we'd have random people showing up at the house every hour of the day so we have to try and blend in, we can't draw attention to ourselves so turning to Artie I speak my thoughts to him and looking around at the other people for a moment he sees what I mean and agrees.

We keep walking through the busy streets and everything is so different, the cars are new and strange, large coloured tv's are sitting in shop windows the last tv I remember was in black and white, it's so different now. After a few minutes of walking we finally spot a shop that seems to sell clothes we change our direction so we're walking towards it and enter through the front door. There's music playing in the shop and it's very fast, wasting no time I follow the signs to the womens section and Artie goes to the mens.

I look through all the clothes and I can't believe how different they are but they are pretty nice, after a couple minutes of looking I find a couple of tops and a couple pairs of blue trouser that button and zip up, I see from the price tags that the tops are called tank tops and the trousers are called jeans, I take them to the counter at the front of the shop and the lady starts to scan the tags through a square box which she calls the till, Once she's done she tells me the overall price and puts my items in a bag, I hand over the correct amount of money and turn to go see how Artie is doing when I see him coming towards the counter with a couple pairs of jeans and t-shirts, the lady does the same and I hand over the money for them. We leave the shop and decide to go home so we can change into our clothes and blend in a bit more.

As we walk towards home agian we pass a shop that has posters on the windows, one of them is for a water theme park, I was always a great swimmer in school that's one thing I can remember, I point it out to Artie and he agrees it sounds like a great idea and it just so happens we're passing a shop that sells swimming items, we enter and using the money buy oursleves all we'll need for swimming then we ask for directions to the water park, the owner tell us where to go and we head home first to sort out and drop of the clothes we don't need.

We put our swimming things along with some towels into a bag and following the directions we were given make our way to the water park, we have to ask for directions another couple of times before we find our way there but when we finally make it there we are awe struck by the sheer size of it, there are several different pools and slides that lead into them, I can't wait to get stuck in but first we need our swimming clothes on so following the signs to the changing rooms I enter the female ones and Artie goes into the male's, I get changed then put my clothes in a locker and tie the key onto my wrist, as I walk out the door Artie appears beside me, we smile and head towards the closest pool, Artie jumps in head first and I slide myself in gently giggling at him.

We swim and float around in the pool for a little while just relaxing and cooling down since it's a hot day, the park is filled with kids and their parents having a family day out together and having a good time, it makes me think for a moment that maybe Artie and I look a bit weird being here on our own without parents when we're young teenagers but after a quick look around I see that no one seems to have noticed us. Now that I feel nice and cool and the line for one of the slides has became a little bit smaller I decide to give it a try, I tell Artie and he decideds to come with me.

We wait in line and it seems to move quickly forward quicker than I thought it would but then again the line is small and this makes me glad that I timed it right because people are cueing up behind us and the line is getting long again, after a few minutes of moving closer and closer to the slide we finally get our turn, Artie gestures for me to go first and I sit down on the top of the slide, I slowly inch forward until eventually gravity takes hold and I start sliding down the water filled slide, It's so fun and water splashes over me as I go down. The slide is high up and it feels like I'm sliding forever which I would gladly do as this is so fun, finally I reach the bottom and plunge into the pool, I hold my breath as I sink beneath the water, instead of rising straight away I stay under the water and swim away from the slide so Artie will have some room when he gets to the bottom.

Once I'm a good distance away from the slide I surface above the water just in time to see Artie coming down the slide and into the pool, He surfaces straight away and swims towards me, when he reaches me we smile at each other and laugh.

"That was awesome" he says.

"Yeah I know I want to go again but the line is getting really long now" I say.

"Come on, I think I saw a couple over here where the lines are short" he says and takes of swimming away from the slide we just came down and towards another slide, I notice he's right about the line that it's fairly short with not many people in it.

I speed up so we can get there before the line starts getting longer again I can't wait to slide down again, this slide looks even taller than the last one and this makes me even more excited.

This is how we spend the rest of the day, we go down every slide and swim in every pool, I don't think I remember a day so fun and relaxing at the same time, when it starts to get late in the day we decide to go home amnd try and see if we can work out how to cook some dinner for ourselves, when we get home we find some food in the cupboards and cooking instructions are on the back of the packet, following them carefully we manage to cook ourselves a decent meal we sit at the kitchen to eat, we're going to have to learn a lot if we're going to fend for ourselves but I'm sure we'll manage and find a way, we finsih our meal and just relax for the rest of the night then when it gets late we make sure the house is locked up before heading to bed.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Artie pov

It's been a couple of weeks since Maddie and I found ourselves sitting in the kitchen with two letters addressed to us to tell us that we had drank water from a magic fountain in the greenhouse and became young again. Since then we have been exploring all the theme parks around us and just doing fun things, it's been a blast but the best part is Maddie and I have become really close, we're really good friends now and she's the most sweetest and caring person I've ever met and I'm starting to see what the letter meant when it said we would fall in love, I just hope she's starting to feel the same towards me, the house has two bedrooms, the master and then the guest bedroom being the gentleman that I am I let Maddie have the master bedroom and I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom.

The sound of the alarm clock buzzing breaks my thoughts and I lean over to hit the stop button and I hear footsteps passing the door, that must be Maddie going downstairs I throw the covers of me and decide to go down as well so we can have breakfast together and decide what we're going to do today, by the time I reach my bedroom door Maddie has already gotten downstairs and I hear her entering the kitchen. I make my way down the hall and stairs to the kitchen after her.

"Morning Maddie" I say when I enter the room

"Oh good morning Artie I didn't hear you coming behind me" She says slightly startled.

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you, I left my room just as you reached the bottem of the stairs so that's probably why you didn't hear me" I say.

"Oh yes probably" she giggles.

"Shall we make some breakfast" I ask her.

"Yes lets" she says.

Together we work our way around the kitchen to make ourselves something to eat, over the past couple of weeks we have managed to lears how to use the unfamiliar cooking items in the kitchen and making food for ourselves is a lot easier, we've also learned how to use other things in the house, like the tv and the washing machine, within a few minutes breakfast is ready and we sit down at the table to eat, it tastes delicious and I eat every single crumb of it, while we eat we discuss what we should do today.

"I heard there was a carneval in town why don't we try going there, it's an all day thing and there's lots to do there" Maddie says.

"Sounds exciting we'll get ready and go" I agree with her.

We finish eating breakfast and head upstairs to grab fresh clothes, I let Maddie use the bathroom first to wash and then I use it after her, One we're dressed and ready to go we grab the house key and leave making sure to lock the door behind us, it's pretty easy to find where the carnaval is because there's posters up with the address on them and it's easy enough to ask directions on how to get there. It doesn't take us long to get there as it's not to far away in a park. There's loud music playing and as we walk through and look around I see games and rides to go on but first we need to go and get some tickets to use these things.

We go to the ticket desk and buy some tickets from the lady working there , Maddie hands her the money needed and she gives us a handful of tickets. As well as rides and games there's also food stands that sell light snacks. we decide to go on one of the rollarcoasters first and I'm feeling excited but slightly nervous about trying it for the first time, we pay and board the ride, more people are waiting to board the ride so we have to wait a few minutes before the ride starts to move.

When it does start to move it slowly follows the rail upwards it goes really high and then when it reaches the top it stops for a couple of seconds before it starts racing down the rail, everyone starts screaming at the speed the rollar coaster is going it's like being on a really fast train. I feel like my stomach has fallen out and I might just vomit from dizziness, just when I think I can't take anymore the ride slows down and comes to a stop back where we started, everyone gets off and I search for a bench to sit on while I get my composure.

Maddie sits beside me and I can hear her laughing at me, I turn and glare at her but she just laughs harder, I take a couple of deep breaths to help the nausea pass, finally it does and I turn to Maddie.

"So were to next" I ask her.

"We'll go play one of the games so your nuasea can fade away" she says.

"I like that plan" I agree.

We stand up and start to walk through the field towards some of the games, Maddie then spots and drags me towars a shooting game she hands the emplyee the money needed for us to both play and he explains what we're meant to do to win the prize. We have to aim the gun at the targets and knock down at least one from each section I decide to be a gentleman and let Maddie go first. She picks up the gun and carefully aims but since this is our first time playing a game like this she struggles and doesn't manage to hit a lot of the targets but she's giggling so at least she's having fun.

She wins a small stuffed bear and now it's my turn, it's a lot harder than it sounds because some of the targets move, I aim the best I can and manage to hit a couple of targets but not very many. Once I'm done the employee hands me a stuffed bear so at least I won something, we thank him and walk away.

We spend the rest of our time wandering through the carneval, playing the games and we go on a couple more rides but we enjoy the games more so we mainly stick with those, we also eat some of the food I especially like the hotdogs. It's coming late evening and the sun is starting to go down so we decide to leave the carneval and take a slow walk through the streets in the direction of home. The streets are quiet and I suppose it's because everyone is in the house having their dinner. After a few minutes of walking we come across a park, We decide to go in and sit on the swings.

We laugh as we swing backwards and forwards going really high in the air, After a few minutes we stop swinging and just sit there talking. I've never really been able to talk to someone the way I can talk to Maddie I think it's because she listens carefully to me and never interupts me, she's a really good listener and she laughs at my horrible jokes. After a few more minutes of sitting on the swings talking we decide to go and climb the rope frame we race each other and she beats me to the top and also beats me back to the bottem, not only does she listen to me when I talk but I also have great fun with her.

After spending a while at the park we get hungry and decide to go home for some dinner I have no idea how we can be hungry after eating so much at the carneval but we are. So we head home and start to cook some food to eat, we make something quick so it doesn't take long to make it and just like always we sit down at the kitchen table together to eat our food and of course it tasted delicious. Once we were finished eating we cleaned up the kitchen then we went and sat in the living room and read a book together we take it in turns reading aloud and it's really nice and peaceful, eventually I look down mid sentence to discover Maddie has fallen asleep. I close the book and put it on the table being gentle not to wake her I lift her into my arms and carry her upstairs. I take her to the master bedroom and lay her down on the bed, I make sure the covers are pulled over her so she doesn't get cold during the night then I go to my own room and go to bed.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Artie pov

Being a teenager was very fun, Maddie and I did a lot of exploring and fun stuff, like theme parks and circuses, but of course we're only human and we soon begin to age past our teen years and into adult hood. We started to settle down and now we were becoming more mature I started to get new feelings for Maddie, at first I didn't understand them but I soon started to realize that the feelings I was getting were love, I was starting to fall in love with Maddie and I'm scared she won't feel the same about me.

I know there's only one way to find out how she feels and that's to talk to her and tell her how I feel, maybe I could do it tonight after dinner when we're reading together. My thoughts are broken by Maddie walking in to the kitchen it's early morning and I was up first.

"Morning Maddie" I say.

"Morning Artie how long have you been up" she asks.

"Only for an hour, do you want some breakfast" I ask her.

"Yes please thank you, you should have woken me" she says.

"Well it's not late in the morning so I thought you would like a lie in, I would've woken you if it got to late, now how does eggs sound" I ask her.

"Perfect, what are we doing today" she asks.

"Well we still haven't tried that place you go to to watch movies before they're out on DVD" I say.

"Oh yes I think it's called the cinema" she says,

"Yes that's it, I thought maybe we could go there" I say.

"Sounds good to me" she says.

I start to make her breakfast, boiled eggs with buttered bread. I talk to her as I make the food and once it's ready I plate it up and hand it to her, I sit down at the table with her and we chat as we eats, we've also managed to get a hang of the new technology of this time, mobile phones, computers we've learned how to use everything. Once Maddie has eaten her food we go upstairs to get dressed while she ate I booked the tickets to go see one of the movies available in the cinema, it's about a boy and a girl that fall in love so I thought Maddie might like it.

Once we're dressed we get in the car which I have now learned to drive I bought it a couple of weeks ago and taught myself how to drive it I thought I might as well since I found a drivers licence in my wallet. I drive through the town to the cinema and when we arrive I park the car in a free space and we enter the building, the first thing we do is grab some popcorn and juice then we go to the double that lead to the hallway where the screens are, we show the lady standing there the tickets and she lets us in. We go to screen six where the movie is being played and find our seats, the movie has been out for a while so the place is pretty quiet.

It doesn't take long for the movie to start and I know I made a good choice when I look over to see Maddie's eyes glued to the screen, we munch on our popcorn and sip on our drinks as we watch the movie. Once we finish our popcorn Maddie snuggles up to me for the remainder of the movie. Once the movies over we head home, it's still fairly early so we decide to go shopping first to get some snacks for later we don't want a whole big meal because the box of popcorn was large and we don't feel very hungry, Once we have enough snacks for both of us we pay for them and head home.

Once we get home we put the snacks in the cupboards because we're still not hungry, we go into the living room and Maddie grabs a book from the bookshelf in the corner, she holds it out to me and I know what she wants, she loves it when we snuggle together on the chair and I read a book aloud to her. Taking the book from her hands I sit down on the chair and just like I knew she would she curls up beside me, I start reading the book and she sits and listens. While we read time seems to fly by and soon it's coming early evening and dinner time, we're a bit peckish so we go to the kitchen and grabbing a big plate we start to make various sandwiches, once the sandwiches are down I grab a couple of bowls and fills them with crisps, mini sausages and sausage rolls.

We take everything back to the living room and while I set it all out on the table Maddie decides she wants to watch a DVD from our movie collection, she picks a Disney movie, even though we're grown adults we developed a love for Disney especially some of the new movies, I see her pick finding Dory and smile this one is her favourites. I pull the table over to the sofa and we snuggle up to watch the movie while we eat our food, I must admit I can't really concentrate on the film because I can't stop thinking about my newfound feelings for Maddie and I want to tell her so badly how I feel but I'm trying to wait until the end of the movie so we'll have nothing distracting us. The longer I have to wait the more agitated I become and Maddie seems to pick up on it because she keeps asking if I'm ok, I keep smiling and telling her that I'm fine.

Finally what feels like several hours later the movie ends and the food is finished as well, Maddie goes to stand but I stop her.

"Hey where you going" I ask her.

"I was just going to do the dishes" she answers.

"Can we talk for a second first" I ask her and I feel the palms of my hands starting to sweat.

She sits back down and waits patiently for me to find the words and start explaining in my own time, that's another thing I love about her she's so patient. I try to open my mouth a couple of times but the words won't come out and I feel like I've been muted, Finally I take a deep breath and try to relax before opening my mouth again and this time the words come out.

"Maddie we've been enjoying this life together now for a couple of years and I've really enjoyed being with" I start.

"Aw Artie I've enjoyed spending time with you to" she says.

"Well that's good, you see Maddie over these last few years I've had a lot of time to get to know you and you're an amazing girl, you have a great personality and you're full of kindness and what guy wouldn't feel the way I feel about such an amazing girl, I mean you're practically the full package" I say.

"Wait slow down, what do you mean how you feel about me" she asks looking puzzled.

"Well I mean that the way I feel about you has gone past friendship into something much more and much stronger, I think I've fallen in love with you Maddie" I say.

"Oh" she says startled.

She falls silent and doesn't say anything for what feels like an eternity, every second that passes is torture and I wish she would just say something, finally she breaks out of her daze and focuses back on me.

"Artie I'm really flattered that you feel that way but I've never really thought about it myself and I need some time to process everything you've said I hope that's ok with you" she says.

"Of course take your time you need to be sure that it's what you want before you agree" I say.

She thanks me then stands up again and heads towards the kitchen taking some of the dishes with her, I pick the rest up from the table and carry them through, while Maddie washes the dishes I grab a towel and start to dry them. We spend the whole time in silence and by the time we're finished it's getting late, she turns to me and says.

"I'm sorry Artie but I'm feeling very tired, I think I'll turn in for the night. I'll see you in the morning" she says and I say goodnight back.

She disappears from the room and I hear her making her way up the stairs, the last thing I hear is the sound of a door closing, I go to the living room and grabbing the book we were reading earlier I sit down and continue, I lose track of time and before I know it it's the early hours of the morning and my eyelids are closing, I fall asleep on the seat in a position that I'm sure will give me a sore neck tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Maddie pov

It's been a couple of weeks since Artie confessed his feelings for me, I told him I needed some time to think things over but I haven't mentioned it to him since and thankfully neither has he. He caught me of guard that night and I don't know what to say him because I don't know how I feel about him.

He's a gentleman and really sweet but I never expected him to feel that way about me, I know it mentioned in the letters that we were happily married and we did have matching wedding rings but I'm still shocked.

We haven't really done anything these past few weeks just relaxed and watched the television in the living room and it has been nice and it does make me feel at home. My thoughts are broken by Artie walking in to the room I smile at him and he smiles back, now that he's awake I get up from the table and working together we start to make some breakfast, it's while we do this that I realise how in synce we are could that be a sign, oh I don't know anything any more. We finish making breakfast and sit down to eat together, at first we sit in a comfortable silence then he speaks.

"So how did you sleep last night" he asks me.

"OK what about you" I ask.

"I slept pretty good so what do you want to do today" he asks me.

"I was thinking maybe we could go to the beach" I suggest.

"Sounds like the perfect day for it, the suns out it's warm so yes I think that's a good idea" He says.

We finish eating our breakfast then head upstairs so we can get ready for the beach, I take a shower then put my two piece swimsuit on with a sundress over the top, I walk in to the hall and I can hear Artie is still in the shower so I decide to go downstairs so I can make us a picnic for lunch plus we'll need sun cream and towels. I decide to make us some sandwiches for lunch along with some fruit, I wrap the sandwiches in film and put them in a container along with grapes, an apple and a banana, I put the container in a bag pack and put two towel and a bottle of sun cream in with them to, by the time I've done this Artie has finish getting ready and is standing in front of me.

Making sure we lock the door behind us we leave the house and make our way towards the beach it's not very far away so it doesn't take long to get there, we look around for a good spot and lay the towels down so we can sit on them. I grab the sun cream from the backpack and squirt some on my hands, I rub it into my face, neck, arms, chest, stomach and legs. I turn to Artie because I have one last place that I can;'t reach.

"Can you put some on my back" I ask him.

He nods and I hand him the bottle so I can lie on my stomach, he unties my top at the back so he can get the whole area and I won't have any lines then squirts some onto hands, he starts to rub it in and it feels almost like a massage, I can feel my body starting to relax it feels really nice. Once the cream is rubbed in he announces that he is going to go for a swim.

"OK well I'll be here, I prefer to relax on the sand anyway" I tell him.

"OK see you in a bit" he says and standing up walks off toward the water.

I watch him as he walks and I can't help but notice that he is really good looking maybe I could try for more with him I mean the letters were proof that it works out so why should I be afraid, I'll see how today goes and maybe I'll talk to him about it later by now he's in the water and swimming away so I can't see much of him any more, I fold my arms and rest my head on them and I soon start to feel my eyes closing.

The next thing I know Artie is gently shaking me awake, I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes a bit confused as to why I fell asleep because I didn't feel tired, I look up to ask Artie what time it is but the sight before me stops the words from coming out and a little drool comes out instead, Artie is using his towel to dry himself of after his swim giving me a good view of his toned body, my heart flutters in my chest and butterflies fly around in my stomach I've never felt like this before and I'm a bit shocked he brings me out of my thoughts by sitting down and saying something to me.

"So are we gonna have some lunch" he says.

"Yeah sure" I reply quickly.

I grab the backpack and take the container out, we split the sandwiches between us and start to eat, my stomach rumbles in satisfaction at being given food, once we finish the sandwiches I eat the apple and Artie has the banana, since we've eaten we can't swim for a little while so we both lay back and enjoy the sun after a few minutes I roll over onto my side and cuddle up to him he wraps his arms around me and we lay like that for ages, I don't remember ever feeling more at home than I do now I think I'm starting to really like him and I can't ignore it for much longer it feels unfair to the both of us to do that. I prop myself up on my elbow so I can look into his eyes I feel a little nervous but I know now in my heart that this is the right thing to do.

"So I've been thinking about the other week" I say.

"OK what about it" He asks.

"Well I've been thinking that you're a really nice guy and we really get along and I think I'm starting to feel the same you do" I say.

"You mean you have feelings for me to" he say and a big broad smile spreads across his face.

"Yes that's exactly what I mean" I say.

He doesn't reply with words instead he reaches up AMD gently pulls my face down to his, our lips touch and mould together perfectly like they we were made for each other, we deepen the kiss and I start to awaken in the most intimate parts of my body and know we should stop since we're on a public beach, Artie must have the same thought as he pulls away and looks around then turns to me and says.

"Can we go home where it's more private" he says.

"Yeah I think that's a good idea" I agree.

We pack everything up and leave the beach heading in the direction of home, our desire to be alone is very strong and instead of taking a slow walk we walk as fast as we can. As soon as we get in the house we dump the backpack at the front door, I lock the door behind us and then we start to passionately kiss he picks me up bridal style and carries me up the stairs. He gently lays me on the bed and starts kissing my neck down to my chest as I unbutton his shirt, we kiss and remove each others clothes until we are both completely naked then he positions his manhood between my legs and slowly slides himself in, we moan together as our bodies seem to move in sync with one another it feels heavenly, I feel my body starting to build and we reach our climax together.

He collapses on top of me and holds me tightly I want to stay like this forever and never leave this room, that wish comes true as we stay in the room for the rest of the day making love, talking and holding each other close, we go down to the kitchen a couple of times to get some food when we we get hungry but other than that we just stay bed all day.

Weeks turn into months and the time passes by really quickly, Artie and I are getting along great and it feels like true love I now know the letters were telling the truth. It doesn't take long before the months turn into years and we soon start to age, we continue to have fun whenever we can but as we get older and older it gets harder and harder but we support each other even when my legs start to become weak and I can barely walk. We had completely forgot about the fountain water until one day when Artie was in the greenhouse and he found it again, he poured some of it in to glasses and we both took a sip and it felt like the world was spinning when it finally stops I open my eyes ad I don't know where I am.

Artie five year old self pov.

What happened where's my mama I just had a hold of her hand and somehow I ended up here, tars fill my eyes and I want to cry but then I hear another sobbing sound, I turn around to see a girl the same age as me with tears in her eyes to.

"It'll be OK we'll find our mama and papa what's your name" I ask her.

"Maddie I'm scared" she says.

"So am I but we'll be OK someone will find us and take us home" I say and taking her hand we go and sit on the couch.

After a little while it starts to get cold in the house so we huddle together to keep warm, we fall asleep like that but when we wake up we're still alone, we stay on the couch for really long time, it gets dark outside then light again then dark again it does this several more times before we start to hear banging on the door, we both get scared and start to cry when the door finally the door swings open and two ladies come in, they come up to us and pick us up in their arms, they hold us close and whisper reassuring words as they carry us out the door and put us in the back of a white and blue car they ladies are also dressed in white and blue, I cuddle up to Maddie and hope that wherever we go it's somewhere nice.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Artie pov.

The two ladies take us to a very big building where inside they tell us to sit on some chairs and give us a book to read while they try to find where we belong, I read the book to Maddie as people wander around the desks in the room. I hope they find our mommy and daddy I really want to go home because I'm really sleepy and so is Maddie.

It feels like a really long time has passed when one of the nice ladies comes over and tells us they've found somewhere for us to sleep for tonight then they'll explain everything to us tomorrow, we hop of the seats and follow them out the building where they put us back in the car and start driving us through the busy streets, we huddle together in the car because it makes us feel safer to be close to each other. We finally arrive at another bulding and the lady stops the car outside then helps us out and guides us inside where we follow her to a big desk that another lady is sitting at, as the two ladies talk to each other we look around the room we are in, it's pretty empty just a couple of chairs and the big desk. After a while the two ladies stop talking and the lady behind the desk comes around it and smiles at us.

Hello little ones I hear you need somewhere to sleep so why don't we see if we can find you a bed to sleep in upstairs She says.

Yes miss I say shyly.

Come on then follow me she says.

We say goodbye to the lady who brought us here and then follow the lady out of the room and up a set of stairs when we reach the top of the stairs we're in a long corridor filled wth doors on both sides, we follow the lady down the corridor and past several doors before she finally stops and opens one we follow her inside and she leads us to two spare empty beds and stops beside them.

Here we are this is where you will be sleeping until we find a new home for you she says.

Isn't our mommy and daddy coming back why do we need a new home I ask.

Oh it's nothing to worry about or be scared of we will make sure that your new mmmy and daddy will love you and give you everything you need I promise everything will be just fine so why don't you both get some sleep and then we'll get you some new clothes and a bath tomorrow she says and runs her fingers through each of our hair.

We get in to the beds and she goes back to the front of the room where she switches the light of and closes the door. We close our eyes but I struggle to sleep I open them again to see Maddie is fast asleep good she's had a long day we both have I try closing my eyes again to see if I can get some sleep and after a few minutes of deep breathing I manage to slip into a restless sleep.

My eyes flutter open at the sound of the door to the room opening and the lady enters I wonder if we'll find out what her name is today, she claps her hands and kids that I didn't notice where here last night start getting out of the other beds around the room. The lady comes over to our beds and gently shakes Maddie who is still in a deep sleep awake, she tells everyone to follow her and we all form a line and follow her out the room, we walk for a few minutes before we arrive at a lunch hall type room with long tables and she instructs us to sit down at the tables and start eating our food.

Maddie and I sit together and I look into the bowls in front of us, they are filled with poridge my favourite, we pick up our spoons and start to eat and my belly rumbles in happiness to get some food it tastes really good not to thick but not to milky either in fact it's just like the way the mommy made it. Once we finish eating our food the lady comes and tells us to follow her again, this time she leads us into a room with toys and chairs there's also a lot of grown ups there and Maddie moves closer to me in shyness.

Ok little ones here are some families who would like to meet you don't worry they're all very nice people who just want to get to know you the lady says to us then she turns to the grown ups.

Welcome everyone thank you for coming today these are the children we have available for adoption please feel free to talk to them and join them on the carpet with the toys they'll be a bit shy at first but just take things slow with them and I'm sure they'll come around and maybe we'll get to see some of them go home with you but there is also presure either The lady says to them.

She turns back to us and ecourages us to go and play with some of the toys on the floor Maddie and I stick together and go to the jigsaws, we pick a small dog jigsaw and taking the pieces out we start to work out which piece goes where we jump slightly when a man and a lady sit down beside but we settle a bit when they give us kind smiles.

Hey there do you mind if we help you build the jigsaw the women asks.

If you want to that's the picture there Maddie explains and shows them the box with the picture on it.

Alright lets see what we can find here The man says and starts looking through the pieces.

So my name is Jenny and this is my Husband Mark what's your names Jenny asks.

My names Maddie and this is Artie we just got here last night we lost our mommy and daddy Maddie explains.

Oh you poor little babies are you brother and sister Mark asks.

No we don't remember how we found each other we just woke up in an empty house all alone Maddie explains.

Oh my what a shame it was just as well they found you when they did you must have both been so scared Jenny says.

Maddie answers them again and she keeps talking to them the whole time they sit with us which is until we finish the jigsaw then they say they will be right back and that they want to go and speak to the lady for a few minutes, they stand up and give us one last kind smile before walking over to the lady and start talking to her after a few minutes they come back over to us with the lady and sit down in front of Maddie.

Maddie we have had a really nice time talking to you and we think you're a really nice litte girl and we would like for you to come home with us would you like that Mark asks her.

Can Artie come as well She asks.

Well we only have room in our house for one but we know a friend that might be able to give Artie a home that way you can visit him whenever you want Jenny says.

Is that ok Artie the lady asks me and I nod my head.

Ok well we'll start filling out the forms we need to take you home with us Maddie and we'll also speak to our friend about taking Artie home with them Mark says and they stand to walk away again.

The other people start to leave and we are taken back to our bedrooms where we spend the rest of the day until it's dinner time then after dinner we lie in bed and read until it's time to go to sleep. The next day is pretty much the same only when Jenny and Mark come back they have another man and women with them, they introduce themselves as Sarah and Joseph. I'm really shy at first but they smile at me kindly as they talk and it helps me trust them a little more and I start to talk to them as well then by the end of the day they say that they will also fill out the forms needed to take me home with them, I feel really happy when they say that because it means I get to stay with Maddie and can visit her all the time which they've promised to let me do. When I finally lie down in bed later on that night I sleep almost instantly because all my worries and fears are gone for the time being.

Maddie and I stay in that place for another couple of weeks before Jenny, Mark, Sarah and Joseph come back to tell us that everything is ready and we can go home with them, we don't have anything to pack up and take with us so we're basically ready to go we say goodbye to the lady who we learned was called Mary she was really nice and hs looked fter us the whole time we've been here once we've said goodbye to Mary we have to say goodbye to each other for now because we're going to seperate houses but they promise that we'll see each other again soon, we give each other a hug and then get into our nw parents cars and then we're off in opposite directions to our new homes.

As we travel home my new parents tell me that they'll give me a couple of days to settle in and do some shopping with me to get me new clothes and once that's done they explain that they'll start enrolling me in school so I can hopefully learn about all the things I need in life and to make some more friends I feel a bit nervous the idea of going to school again remember going when I was with my old parents but this will be a new school with new people and I don't like to be the new boy in the class because you never know how the other kids will treat you. It doesn't take long for us to get back to the house and they help me out of the car and led me gently to the front door, inside the house is spacious but not to big they give me a small tour of the downstairs then take me upstairs to see my bedroom.

I walk in to see it's like a whole new land and a little boys dream the walls are painted blue with red car stickers on them with a matching bed, toy cars and trucks are neatly spread around the room and there are comic books about super heroes on the shelves which are built onto the walls. I love it and I never want to leave it it's like my own little car land.

Do you like your new room Artie Sarah asks me.

Yes it's so awesome thank you can I keep it like this forever I ask them.

You can keep it like this as long as you want now how about we go downstairs for dinner then afterward we can bring some of these awesome toys downstairs and play with them together how does that sound buddy Joseph asks me.

That sound awesome I say and bound down the stairs with them behind me.  
I sit and talk with them as they make dinner and when it's ready we all sit down at the table together to eat it, it tastes really good and I clear my whole plate which makes Sarah really happy and she says I'm a good boy, just like they said they let me bring down some of my toy cars and we sit in the middle of the living room floor and play with them until it finally starts to get a bit late so they decide I should go to bed, I take my cars up with me and put them away neat and tidy like they were before they tell me to choose a comic book and I do then snuggle into bed while they read me a couple of pages. By the time they finish reading my eyes are almost closed and they both give me a kiss on the forehead before switching the light out and closing the door as the leave the room. As soon as the door closes I am in a deep sleep. 


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Maddie pov.

It's been a whole week since I went to my new home with my new mummy and daddy, I haven't been able to see Artie because we had to do a lot of shopping, mummy said I needed some clothes and we had to do school shopping to because daddy found a school around the corner that have agreed to let me go there, I've been going to bed early at night so I can get used to the routine and won't be as tired when I have to get up early in the mornings to go to school, at least that's how daddy explained and I believe him. They've been really nice to me since I got here and I hope Artie is getting the same treatement, I wonder if he'll be starting school soon to. The whole week flies by really quickly and it's the night before my first day at school, I'm really nervous because I won't know anyone there and I'm scared in case they don't like me, Mummy assures me once more as she tucks me in that they will love me and I will meet loads of new friends I just have to remember to say hello to people kindly.

I'm awakened by mumy the next morning and follow her downstairs to the kitchen, a bowl of cereal has been set out on the kitchen table for me I take a seat and watch mummy and daddy work around the kitchen while I eat. Once I've finished my breakfast it's time to go get washed and dressed, mummy comes up the stairs with me so she can help me, Once I'm washed and dressed I sit down in front of her so she can brush my hair and put it in a ponytail, then it's time to leave and the butterflies in my belly are getting worse the closer I get to school. Mummy and daddy help me into the back of the car and then drive me towards the school, when we get there I see the playground is full of kids I hope they like me, I follow mummy into the office and she talks to the lady behind the desk then they both kiss me goodbye and tell me to follow the lady through the corridors. I do as I'm told and after passing some doors she leads me Into a room where a small group of kids that look my age and a lady sit inside.

The lady stops talking and smiles at me as I enter the room, she gestures for me to come and stand beside her and the lady from the office exits and closes the door behind her, I stand beside the lady in the room and she starts to talk to me.

"Hello you must be Maddie I'm Mrs Peacock and these lovely smiling faces are your classmates, class say hello to our new student Maddie" she says the last part to the other kids and they all say hello to me at the same time.

She shows me to an empty seat at a table and begins to explain what we'll be doing first, then she hands out some booklets and explains that we've to start at the beginning and work our way through the book, she tells us that she will move through the tables and help us with anything we're stuck on but if one of us needs help before she gets to us then we should put our hand in the air to signal her and she will come over, I take a pencil and rubber from the school bag mummy helped me pick out and start to make my way through the math sums in the book, it's really difficut and I have to put my hand up for Mrs Peacock to come and help me, she explains how to work the sums out and helps me with a couple, I find it's not as hard as I first thought and I'm able to figure them out for myself after her help. I thank her and then she goes and helps another student.

The bell rings and we all run out into the playground with our snacks, I managed to complete two whole pages of the book which makes me happy since I struggled at first, Mrs Peacock says we'll be doing some English when we come back from break and we'll do that until lunch, some of the kids invite me over for a game of tag but I don't know what that is, they explain the rules to me and we begin playing, it's really fun and it turns out I'm good at it to especially being the chaser which is my favourite part because I always manage to tag someone. The rest of the day goes really well and I even think I made some friends because they invite me to sit with them at lunch time as well and that makes me feel really happy and I can't wait to tell mummy and daddy all about my day.

As soon as the last bell of the day rings and Mrs Peacock lets us out the classroom door I look around the playground until I spot mummy standing at the gate waiting for me, I run towards her and give her a big hug, I follow her to the car and jump in the back, she drives us home and I ask where daddy is since he isn't here.

"He stayed at home so he could start cooking dinner sweetie so then you can tell us all about your day while we eat and we can tell you the good news" She says.

I'm excited about the good news but she tells me I have to wait until dinner time before they'll tell me because they want to tell me together, when we get home I run into the kitchen where daddy is and he gives me a big hug, he's cooking something that smells really good and I can't wait until it's ready. I wasn't given any homework today so I go upstairs to put my pyjamas on before dinner, I take some of my dolls that mummy and daddy got me downstairs so I can play with them while I wait for dinner, I giggle at mummy and daddy because they've put some music on and are dancing around the kitchen while they cook, I squeel when daddy picks me up and twirls me around the kitchen this is so fun. Finally dinner is ready and we all sit at the table to eat while I tell them all about my day.

"We're so proud of you for making friends today sweetie and for doing well with your work now about that good news I mentioned in the car I think we can tell you now" she says and turns to dad.

"We arranged for you to go and see Artie this saturday" daddy says.

"Really" I say with a big smile on my face.

"Yes really we thought that would make you happy, we've arranged to over for lunch does that sound ok" mummy asks.

"Yes thank you so much I can't wait to see him, I've really missed him" I say pratically bouncing up and down on my seat.

They smile at me and we finish eating our dinner, we go and sit in the living room and they put a movie on for us to watch together, this is my favourite part of the evening. Before I know it my eyes are getting heavy and daddy carries me up to bed and tucks me in. The rest of the week goes by quickly and it's finally saturday, I can't wait to see Artie I really have missed him even though we don't really know each other he still looked after me while we were in the house before we were found by those ladies, I'm so excited that I wake up early and race downstairs for breakfast.

"Morning mum and dad" I say as I enter the room.

"I assume someone's excited for today" Mum says smiling.

"Yeah I can't wait to see Artie I've missed him" I say smiling.

"Well lets all have some breakfast then we can start getting washed and dressed" Dad says and puts a bowl of cereal in front of me.

I eat my cereal as they talk about what they've been doing at work and once we're finished eating we all head upstairs to get washed, mum helps me pick out the perfect outfit then I go to the bathroom to start having a shower. Mummy helps me with my hair and soon I'm dressed and ready to go, I go and play in my room while I wait for mummy and daddy to get ready. Finally they're ready and since it's a long drive to Artie's parents house we leave right away, I sit in the back of the car and sing along to the radio in the car I'm not sure how it works because I don't remember seeing one before but I love the songs on it.

A long drive later and we finally arrive at Artie's house, mum and dad help me out of the car and I run into their garden up to their front door, Artie's mum answers the door and lets us inside. As soon as I'm inside I give Artie a big and we run upstairs so he can show me his room, it's nice to see him again and I love his new house. We stay in his room while our parents are downstairs catching up, after a little while we are called down to have some lunch. Once we've finished lunch we go to play in the garden for a little while longer, we play hide and seek until it's time for me to go home.

I hug Artie goodbye and follow mum and dad out to the car, we start the long drive home and I sing along to the songs the whole way home. As soon as we get home mum takes me upstairs so I can have a bath and get ready for bed, she helps me wash my hair and I wash my body then I get my pyjamas on and mummy takes me to my bedroom where they both read to me until I fall asleep.

We spend the rest of our childhood together, we go to each others houses and do homework together. When we hit our teens we stick together still and we end up going to the same high school as each other it's a lot of fun and we get to see each other all the time which is great, we made a small group of friends and we were like family. Nothing lasts forever and soon we were all heading to college, Artie and I are going to different colleges I'll miss not seeing him every day but I'm sure we'll see each other after college and we've agreed to keep in contact as much as we can. We spend our final day together at the beach because it's a nice day, as we lay on the sand I put some sun lotion on so I don't get burned.

Artie is lying beside me with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, once I've rubbed the lotion into my skin I lay back and close my eyes enjoying the heat just like Artie. This is how we spend the rest of our day lying on the sand, swimming in the water and eating ice cream, we stay at the beach for hours until finally it's time to go home. Artie walks me to my front door and before we say goodnight he promises he will walk me to the train station tomorrow so we can say one last goodbye, I thank him and tell him I'll see him tomorrow then head in the house and up to my room. I check my bags one more time to make sure I have everything then saying goodnight to mum and dad head upstairs to bed.

The next morning I'm up early and in the shower while my parents are downstairs, once I'm out the shower I dress in comfortable clothes because I have a long journey ahead of me, I brush my hair then head downstairs to have the last breakfast with my parents that I'll have for a while, god I'll miss them but I know I've made the right choice in going to this college. We talk to each other as we eat but time seems to be flying by and soon the door bell rings, I go to answer and find Artie smiling at me I let him in to the house and he helps me downstairs with my luggage, I go and say goodbye to mum and dad then we head out the door towards the bus station. The closer we get to the bus station the sadder I get I'm really going to miss everyone but I have to do this for me it's the right thing to do, going to college will help me improve my skills and make it easier to find the career that's right for me.

Artie sits with me until my bus is called then walks me to the gate, we give each other one last hug goodbye and I wish him luck with his college course before I put my bags in the luggage department, show the driver my ticket, board the bus and find my seat. As the bus pulls away I wave to Artie until he is out of sight then I pull out my iPod and put my favourite playlist on with the earbuds in my ears I close my eyes and try to relax during the journey.

The first couple of days of college were hard to adjust to, I missed home and everyone I loved including Artie. I hadn't managed to contact anyone because it was just to hectic and I didn't have a minute to myself. I was making friends and having fun after a couple of weeks, I felt like I was really starting to fit in and my parents were really proud of me for that, I had managed to contact them a couple of times but it was harder with Artie because I had my own college stuff and he had his so it was hard to be free at the same time as each other. We're starting to drift apart a little bit because of it which is sad but these things happen sometimes and we'll spend some much needed time together when we get home. Saying this every day helps me feel better because it makes me sure that we'll still be friends when we get home.

College seems to be flying by and soon it's down to the last couple months of the course, so far I have passed everything I've done and I'm trying my hardest to keep it up, all the friends I've made have promised that we should keep in contact with each other after college. I'll be sad to leave but also happy to go home and see my family because I've really missed them. The last couple of months pass by in a blur and before I know it I'm on the bus again on my way home, I feel nervous to see Artie again and I really hope we can get our friendship back to what it was before we left for college. I'm also planning to start job searching the minute I get home because I hate the thoughts of sitting in the house all day with nothing to do. Once again I listen to my iPod on the bus since no one is sitting beside me and it helps me to relax better, mum and dad pick me up from the station and I give them big hugs when I see them. They help me into the car with my bags then drive towards home, when we walk into the house the whole family is there including Artie and his parents, mum and dad explain that they wanted to give me a welcome home dinner and I thank them.

We arrived home just in time as it turns out because dinner is ready, we all sit down at the table together and start to eat. Everyone asks me about college and I answer their questions and tell them how everything went, after dinner I go up to my room to unpack because everyone has said goodbye and gone home. I jump when I hear a knock on my door and turn around to see Artie standing there, I smile shyly and he smiles back.

"Hi it's nice to finally be alone I missed you while you were gone" he says.

"I missed you to" I say.

He walks towards me and takes me in his arms, I wrap my arms around his neck and enjoy our hug, I really did miss him maybe a little more than a friend should. When we break apart we sit down on my bed and just talk, we spend hours just talking and catching up I don't know why I was worried there was clearly no point We're just as close as we were before and something tells me our friendship will never end and who knows maybe it will become more.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A few years later Artie pov.

Maddie and I have only grown closer over the years since we came back from college and one night we were talking and I confessed that I had feelings for her, with a blushing face she told me that she felt the same so we arranged to go to dinner together. At this point we had both moved out of our parents houses and got places of our own along with good jobs, we arranged a day and I picked her up in my car. I had planned the perfect place to take her to and I was really nervous but it turned out the nervous weren't necessary and we had an amazing time together. When I dropped her of that night she gave me a peck on the lips before entering the house, I drove home with a smile on my face. We spent so much time together over the next couple of months and we're still dating but I want to take the next step with her. We've been dating for almost a year now and I think we're ready I just hope she agrees.

We moved in together a couple of months together and waking up next to her every morning is my dream come true, I could not be happier with the life I share with her. I've just finished work and I'm on my way home to her right now I can't wait to hold her I've missed her today. The drive home takes a few minutes but I finally arrive to the smell of dinner being made, I take off my shoes and head through to the kitchen to give her a hug. As I hug her I can see that she's making us spaghetti bolognese for dinner and it smells divine.

"Hey handsome" she says.

"Hey baby how was your day" I ask her.

"It was busy but I managed" she says and turns to give me a tired smile.

"Well we'll have some dinner then have a relaxing night in front of the TV okay" I suggest.

"Okay sounds good" she says and turns back to the cooker.

I decide to start helping her prepare dinner, we move around the room in sync with each other until finally dinner is complete. Maddie serves it and we sit down at the table together to eat, we eat in silence for a couple of minutes before I finally manage to pluck up the courage to speak.

"So I have something really important to ask you" I start.

"Okay what is it" She asks.

Well looks like it's now or never, I reach into my pocket and take out the jewellery box. I stand up and move so I'm standing in front of her then I go down on one knee, she gasps as I take her left hand in mine.

"Maddie we've know each other since we were children and you've been my best friend throughout all these years, I love you more than anything in the entire world and I want to spend the rest of my life with you will you marry me" I ask her.

She sits there staring at me in shock for what feels like an eternity before a singe tear rolls down her cheek and she says yes. I lift her up and swing her around the kitchen in happiness, by the time I set her down we're both giggling like a couple of kids. We sit back down and continue with our food but then Maddie announces that she has some news of her own.

"So I have some news to" she says.

"Really what's up" I ask her.

"Well I noticed a couple of days ago that my cycle is late this month so I bought a test this morning" she says.

"And what was the result" I ask.

"It came back positive so I booked an appointment with the doctor for Tuesday morning" she explains.

"So you're pregnant" I say.

"Yes I'm pregnant Artie" she says.

"I love you" I say and a face splitting grin spreads across my face.

"So you're happy then" she says and smiles at me.

"I couldn't be more happier" I say and take her hand.

A couple months later

I'm standing at the end of the alter waiting for Maddie, we decided on a beach wedding and thankfully the weather has been in support of us, the hot sun makes the water glitter and shine, suddenly the music starts and the guests stand up. I watch as Maddie appears at the bottom of the aisle and makes her way towards me in time to the song, she reaches me and we smile at each other before turning to face the minister. He starts the ceremony and we repeat after him when he tells us to, we exchange rings and he pronounces us man and wife, we share a kiss as everyone applauds and picking her up bridal style I carry her to where the cars are waiting to take us to the reception. The reception is crowded and when the DJ announces us I lead Maddie to the dance floor where we share our first dance together and husband and wife.

By the time the night starts to settle down I can see Maddie is getting tired so we start going round our remaining guests saying goodbye to everyone so we can leave, since Maddie is a couple months into her pregnancy we're not going on a honeymoon yet. Maybe when the baby is older and if we can find someone to look after our little one. After we say goodbye we head outside to the car, I help her in to the passenger side because she still has her wedding dress on then I go round to the drivers side and hop in, I drive towards home and it only takes us a couple minutes to get there, I help Maddie out of the car and then lift her bridal style and carry her over the threshold. I kick the door closed and carry her upstairs to our bedroom, I lay her down on the bed and remove her shoes then helping her stand I remove her veil. We slowly undress each other and I lower her onto the bed and gently we consummate our marriage into the late hours of the night until we fall asleep in each others arms.

Another couple of months later.

I feel someone shaking me awake and I turn to see Maddie panting and holding her stomach, I'm suddenly very awake, its time. I grab the baby bag that we already have packed and go downstairs to put it in the car, I then turn and run back up the stairs to help Maddie get dressed in some comfortable clothes then I help her downstairs to the car as well, I can't believe in just a few hours we will get to meet our little baby, I drive as careful as possible towards the hospital so as not to make the pain any worse for her, we finally arrive and I park the car before jumping out and helping her through the double doors to the reception desk. They sit her in a wheelchair and take her to a private room, a nurse gives her a hospital gown and I help her change into it then help her lay down on the bed. The nurse comes into the room and starts hooking up machines then she examines Maddie and tells us that everything looks good so far.

The hours seem to slowly slip by until finally Maddie is fully dilated and ready to push, I hold her hand as she bears down. The nurse guides her through the labour and soon the babies head is born, after one more big push our beautiful baby girl comes into the world, while the nurse wraps her in blankets and examines her I give Maddie a kiss on the head and tell her she did well.

The nurse lets her hold the baby for a minute before handing her to me so Maddie can deliver the afterbirth, I rock my beautiful daughter back and forth as she starts to settle and fall asleep, once the afterbirth is delivered and the nurse cleans and covers Maddie up I hand our baby to her so she can feed her. I sit and watch the two of them in awe now I have a queen and a princess, both of them are beautiful and I can't wait until we can see our baby grow.

"What shall we call her" I ask Maddie.

"I think we should call her Angel" she says.

"I love it it's perfect" I say.

Both Angel and Maddie stayed in hospital for a couple of days just to be monitored and then they are released on the same day, we make sure she's strapped into her car seat before heading home. The first couple of days are tiring but we keep our heads up and work together as a team, after a couple of weeks things start to settle down and Angel is sleeping through the night. We're loving every minute with her and love watching her grow and develop, I know I'll do anything I can to protect her from danger. I just hope we raise her well.

Several years later Maddie pov.

It's Christmas day and Artie and I are both sitting on our armchairs watching our grandchildren open their presents, we're both a a fair age now and it's getting harder for us to keep in good health. As I get older I have more and more trouble with my legs, they get weak and tired very easily and I find myself having to nap throughout out the day. Angel our daughter is now a women with her own husband and has given us the most beautiful grandchildren we could ever wish for, I smile as I watch them open their presents on the floor. Artie breaks my thoughts by taking my hand in his, his once brown hair is now silver like my own, our skin has wrinkled as well but it doesn't make him any less handsome.

"Are you okay you're not getting to tired are you" he asks he always gets worried about me.

"No love I'm okay this is a special day and I won't miss it for the world" I say.

He smiles and nods his head understanding what I mean, I plan on spending the full day with my family no matter how tired I get. Once the presents are opened Angel and John her husband go to the kitchen to work on dinner, the kids come and give Artie and I hugs to t've s hank us for their presents. We sit with them while dinner is being made so they won't distract Angel and John while they cook. Soon enough dinner is ready and we all go and sit in the dining room, we all talk as we eat and pull Christmas crackers together, after diner we have some dessert then Artie and I start saying our goodbyes and getting ready to go home, Artie is still able to drive so we get in the car anddrive towards home.

He decides to go a different way and I look out the window at the different streets, but something feels oddly familiar about this place, then we pass a house that is in complete darkness and I could swear I've been there before. I ask Artie to pull over and I climb out the car, the house seems to be abandoned, Artie comes up behind me and I explain my odd feelings to him. We both move closer to get a better look, once upon a time it would have been beautiful, flowers are spread all over the front lawn but they have died and withered away from lack of care. Artie is still fascinated by them because he loves taking care of plants and flowers, he bends to inspect one and lifts the pot to find there's a key underneath.

"It looks abandoned so I don't see why we shouldn't give going in a try" He says.

I agree and we try the key in the lock, it works and the door swings open, we enter the hallway and I walk towards the huge living room while Artie closes the door behind us, when I get to the living room and see the couch I realise why this place looks so familiar, I call to Artie and he comes running in thinking something is wrong.

"Don't you recognise this place" I ask him.

"It does seem familiar but I can't place it" He answers.

"Artie this is the house the police found us in when we were children" I explain.

"Oh yes now I remember" he says.

"We never did find out what we were doing here" I say.

"Why don't we have a look around and see if we can find any clues although we'll be lucky since all these years have passed" He says.

We start to walk through the house and as we look around in all the different rooms I start to get the feeling that we weren't just here as kids, it feels like I was here in some sort of past life but I just can't put the pieces together. We finally end up in the kitchen and go out into the backyard, there's a large greenhouse at the back of the garden so we decide to see what's inside. When we enter Artie gasps loudly and when I ask him what's wrong he says he now understands the feeling I have because he has the same one standing here. He goes to the back and picks up a small trowel, he examines it closely and I'm about to tell him to be careful when he cuts himself on the edge, He drops it and it pierces the soil on the ground. I run over him and pick up a small dusty cloth, I shake the dust of and hold it against the cut it's then we hear the sound of running water. We both turn to see where the trowel has pierced the soil now has water coming out, it looks like a mini fountain.

Then like a TV screen images flash through my mind but they're not just any images it's our life before now, we've drink from the fountain several times and it's made us decrease in age. When the flashes stop I look to Artie an I can tell he remembers everything as well, we smile at each other and I know we're thinking the same thing, we did what we set out to and it was amazing we gave ourselves several chances to make the best and enjoy life and we did but I think that's enough now.

"I don't think we should drink it again, since it took us back to young children if we drink again it might take us to before we were born and we run the risk of erasing ourselves we've had a fun life and I think it's time for us to rest now" I say.

"I completely agree with you we should enjoy what time we have left with each other and the ret of our family" He says.

Unfortunately Artie and I are too old to fix the house up so we have to stay in the house we're already living in, I would have liked to have returned home but it will always be in our memories, with our hearts feeling a bit heavy we leave the house and head to the house we live in. When we get home the day finally catches up to me and my legs give out from under me, Artie just manages to help me upstairs to our room and into my pyjamas. We get in to bed together and fall asleep.

A year later Maddie pov.

It's surprising how much can change in a year, I've only grown weaker and I'm now completely bed bound like I was before we drank the water, Artie as always is taking great care of me, he's always checking on me and Angel brings the kids over to visit us regularly. They are growing so big now it's so hard to believe how a little time can change so much, Artie is starting to weaken as well and is starting to spend most days in bed with me because he just doesn't have the energy. Today however he is downstairs making lunch because Angel, John and the kids are coming over, I wish I could do down and have lunch with them but my legs are just to weak.

I hear the front door opening and closing and the sound of little excited voices then footsteps on the stairs, my little family bursts through the door and they all come and sit on the bed beside me. Artie brings lunch up and I smile looks like I'll get to have lunch with them after all, The kids tell me all about school and Angel and John tell me about their careers. It's nice to hear about the outside world I wish I could go out into the sunshine but I can't. It feels like a short time has passed when they announce that they have to go, we hug each other goodbye and they disappear through the bedroom door. Once they are away Artie comes back upstairs to keep me company and to rest because the visit has tired him out, we spend the rest of our day reading only stopping to eat some dinner and then reading again. When evening comes we decide to go to sleep for the night, we share a kiss and settle down to sleep.

Artie and I didn't wake the next morning and we would never wake again, during the night both our hearts slowed until they stopped and we both passed on, now our spirits spend their time sitting beside a stone fountain while we watch osver our loved ones.


End file.
